Unexpected turn of events
by Katsura369
Summary: Sakura wasn't planning on this to happen to her yet it seems she had become a victim of destiny. She wakes up in another world where there are people who use elements known as bending and there is a war going on. This world is not her own, it is not meant for her, yet it needed her and she couldn't let it down. What happens when matters of the heart becomes involved as well?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter one A twist of fate**

 **Hello readers, September exams have killed me and the only thing that got me through was thinking about how I would be able to write some new stories that would hopefully make my loyal readers very happy. So I've written this Avatar crossover with Sakura as the main character of course and I've also started writing a Magi fanfiction crossover with Sakura in it. I don't know when I'll be posting that one though but for now I hope you enjoy this.**

 **Summary**

 **Sakura wasn't planning on this to happen to her; yet it seems she had become a victim of destiny. She wakes up in another world where there are people who use elements known as bending and there is massive war going on. This world is not her own, it is not meant for her, yet it needed her and she couldn't let it down. She becomes twisted in the threads of fate of those who are meant to fight for the freedom of this world and now she must slowly begin to untangle it. Will she be able to do it and get home?**

* * *

 _Fate is such a strange thing and works in the most mysterious ways-that's an understatement however as fate plays a much bigger part in life than people will ever realise but there will always be those who believe they are opposing fate so much so that they do not realise that it was meant to be like this from the begging._

 _Mankind has always been one to attempt to oppose forces beyond their reach and they always found a way to do it. No matter the cost. Why? Because they were greedy, it was coded into them to be this way. Yet they were essential._

 _They have always been one to oppose fate and hence attempted to create unbalance in everything so that they would feel like they had more meaning in their lives. Nothing can last forever though and the universe would always find a way to put things back in place._

 _Yet from time to time, man was simply too persistent and the universe could not bring balance back as easily with what it had to offer. So Fate came up with another solution._

 _Simply adjust and add in another factor._

 _An extra factor taken from somewhere else-from somewhere that didn't utilise the factor to its full potential. The solution seemed a lot more simple than it actually was-after all it was just borrowing something that wasn't needed at the moment._

 _The problem with borrowing though is that you never know for sure that you will want to return what you have borrowed once you discover how valuable it really is._

 _Fate can be very selfish as well, when it wants something bad enough. It can change everything in a single moment and tangle up its neatly lined threads making it impossible to escape._

* * *

Clear skies, a light breeze, the smell of the forest filling the senses; nothing could be more perfect; at least not in the opinion of Sakura Haruno who treaded through the mountains as she took a short cut on her way back to her village. Standing on the top she could see everything including her village that wasn't too far. After being away on a mission for nearly two weeks it would be nice to see her friend again.

The pink haired girl allowed her emerald green eyes to scan the area one more time before she smiled. When she got back she planned on having a nice hot bath before going to hand in the report on her mission.

Unfortunately for her-fate did not agree with her agenda.

"Almost home."

She wanted to get back fast since there would be a really bad storm approaching soon.

As she began making her way down the mountain the skies darkened and filled with grey clouds followed by the familiar rumbling sounds that promised a storm-and one unlike anything Sakura has ever seen before. She looked up as the wind began to become more vicious; her pink locks hitting her face. She winced.

Then the clouds began to do something very strange, moving in a round circular motion they started to look as if they were chasing each other and began forming a giant opening in the sky. Sakura couldn't help but stare up in awe as an array of colours filled the centre of it and then...there was a flash of light.

And she was standing right under it.

'What is that?' Sakura wondered unable to move; her eyes fixated on what was forming.

Then the light engulfed her form completely before she was able to comprehend the situation. She was lifted into the air slowly before she began to hear voices; many voices man and women alike yet they were all saying the same thing.

* * *

Fate-was something that was being cursed right now by several individuals as they walked through the scorching hot desert. Their cheeks painted red as they continued to move. They had nothing but good intentions when entering this desert and yet due to an unfortunate turn of events they were now stranded and unsure of how they would return.

This was group was four young teenagers and one lemur more specifically, Aang, Katara, Toph, Sokka and Momo.

They had come to the desert in search of an ancient spirit library and had gotten this far on Aang's bison Aapa but when their backs were turned and odds were not in their favour; he was taken. Now they were stuck in the desert.

"Come on we have to keep moving." Said Katara

The sun was setting now and they would most likely be spending a night in the desert.

"We can't go any faster." Toph moaned

Then they heard a crackling sound from above, and it wasn't buzzards. There were clouds that started to form and lightning appeared from nowhere.

"What is that?" Katara asked in shock

"I don't know." Aang replied narrowing his eyes

"What's happening?" asked Toph who was unable to see the light due to her blindness.

"There's some kind of weird light." said Sokka dizzily-having had cactus juice that had caused him to go into a narrow state of mind earlier on.

"Look" Katara pointed up to the sky.

There was a loud eruption sound and then it was like the sky split open before a figure began falling from the sky and they saw a girl with pink hair.

"Am I hallucinating still..." trailed Sokka as his eyes followed the figure falling.

"Aang grab her before she falls!" Katara exclaimed

Aang quickly flipped open his glider and flew towards the girl and caught her with ease. He placed on onto the ground where his friends gathered around her.

"Where did she come from?" asked Toph

"I don't know but she looks...different." Katara noted

She indeed was; the girl had short pink hair-pink! That was a colour none of them have seen on anyone's head! She had pale skin; a bit of a wider than usual forehead and was wearing a sleeveless red top and a pair of tight black shorts with boots.

"Okay...This trip just goes a whole lot weirder." Toph stated

* * *

Emerald eyes slowly opened; her strong but petite body was aching all over as she breathed in and out her chest felt heavier than usual as she struggled to sit up; she rubbed her eyes and looked over her body; there were a few bruises on her body. She looked around and found that there was nothing but sand for miles. Was she in a desert? How was that even possible she was just in the forest a little ways from her village?

"Look she's awake!"

Sakura looked around and found herself surrounded by people with faces she was not familiar with.

"Are you okay?" a girl asked; she was about Sakura's age maybe younger, she had dark brown skin and dark hair tied into a braid with her bangs in loops; she also had amazing blue eyes and was clad in a blue tunic with pants.

"I think so" Sakura answered rubbing her head "What happened?"

"That's what we would like to know." a young boy said; he was a bit younger than Sakura in appearance and had a bald head with a light blue arrow tattoo on it, he also had brown eyes and pale skin.

"You literally just fell out of nowhere." Said another female voice; Sakura turned her head and she saw another girl; she had a pale complexion and pale eyes that reminded her of the Hyuga's eyes but Sakura knew that this indicated that she was blind and dark hair that was tied into a huge bun.

Then there was a boy who was about maybe a year older than Sakura, he had dark hair that was shaven on the sides and the rest tied back into a short pony tail, he also had tanned skin and blue eyes like the one girl.

"What's your name?" the blind girl asked

"Sakura..." the pinkette told them "Sakura Haruno"

The dusky skinned girl gestured to herself "My name is Katara"

"I'm Toph" the blind girl said

"I'm Aang" the brown eyed boy said a little down; then a little lemur jumped on Sakura's shoulder making her yelp.

"And that's Momo" said Katara

Then the last boy introduced himself

"I'm Sokka and your hairs pink."

Sakura tugged at the end of her Cherryblossom coloured hair "I know; it's nice to meet you. Do you have any ideas about what happened?"

"Well..." Katara trailed "We don't know; you kind of just fell from the sky..."

"What?" Sakura asked in disbelief

"Yeah and I thought I was seeing things because I was woozy from the cactus juice..." trailed Sokka

"I fell from the sky?" Sakura asked still trying to process this. She fell from the sky...the sky...

Sakura looked up at the group "Do any of you know how to get to Konoha?"

"What?" asked Toph

"The village hidden in the leaves." She tried to elaborate

"We've never heard of a village like that." Katara said "That's where you're from?"

Sakura nodded "Yes, I was on my way there when this light appeared and sucked me into the sky."

The group glanced at one another-except for Toph.

"Wait...from the sky." Aang asked

"This is making no sense whatsoever." Said Katara and Sakura nodded in agreement.

"I can't seem to come up with an explanation of how this happened." Sakura said rubbing her head; how could she have gone from a forest to a desert and from day to night?

"We're not sure what's going on but if you like we'd be happy to help you." Katara said with a smile

"We would?" asked Sokka making Katara elbow him in his stomach.

"Yes, she's clearly lost and we can't leave someone out here."

Sakura smiled "Thanks."

* * *

Katara and Sakura were looking at a map and the stars; they were trying to coordinate how they would be getting out. Everyone else had already gone to sleep but it would only be for a little while before they had to get back up. Since Sakura wasn't walking in the desert for hours unlike the rest of them, she decided to stay up and help Katara plan their route. Sakura was still completely at a loss for what was happening but she supposed she should thank her lucky stars that she wasn't alone in the desert. However there was something going on that made Sakura feel very uneasy, it was something about this group. It wasn't the people in specific; they all seemed very nice but it was the odd feeling that she was somewhere she didn't belong.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you get trapped in the desert?" Sakura asked

Katara's face fell slightly before she began explaining to the pinkette "We came here searching for a library."

"A library in the desert?" asked Sakura in disbelief.

"It's a spirit library" Sokka added

Katara nodded "We came here on our bison."

"What's a bison?" Sakura asked

"It's...kind of a buffalo like creature, his name was Aapa. Anyway we flew here with him-

"Flew?" Sakura asked; okay things were taking a turn for the strange quickly. Katara seemed to be telling Sakura the truth yet she has never heard of bison's before or of a library in the middle of the desert.

Just where did she land?

"Yeah." Katara said cocking her head to the side

Sakura took a breath; she had a feeling that she would be asking a lot of questions "Sorry; I'll leave all my questions for the end."

Katara nodded and continued

"We found the library and went inside but while we were there some sand bender bandits came and stole our bison. So that's how we ended up here."

Sakura nodded and looked down at the sand, why was it that nothing was making sense now?

For the time being all she needed to do was focus on getting out of the desert and then hopefully she would be able to find a way to get back home.

'I wonder how far I am from home now.'

Katara stood up "Let's wake everyone up so we can get going."

Sakura nodded and went over to Toph while Katara woke up Sokka and Aang but when Katara went over to Aang it turned out he was already awake. Despite the turn of events it was clear his mind was still on one thin and that was his bison.

Sakura went over to Toph and Sokka; gently shaking them awake.

"We're moving out."

They both groaned and stood up.

Toph licked her lips "Yesterday my mouth tasted like mud; now it just tastes like sand; I'd never thought I'd miss the taste of mud so much"

"Come on; we need to get moving if we want to get out of this sandpit" said Katara waiting for everyone to get their bearings.

Suddenly Aang looked up at the sky and saw something drifting across the full moon.

"AAPA" he cried in joy

Sakura looked at him, Aang seemed rather aloof when he introduced himself to her but now he appeared cheerful.

Sakura looked up in the sky and narrowed her eyes "That's a cloud."

That destroyed the hype quick but then Katara gasped "A cloud!" she took off her water sack and held it out to Aang "Here fly up there and bend the water from that cloud into my pouch."

Unhappily Aang grabbed the pouch and tapped his glider before jumping into the air and flying.

Sakura gasped in shock "What is he doing?!"

"He's an air bender after all so it's no surprise he can fly up so high." Toph said nonchalantly

"But I've never heard of jutsu like that before." Sakura said

Now it was everyone else's turn to seem confused.

"What are you talking about?" asked Toph "That's airbending, you know like waterbending and earthbending and firebending"

Sakura cocked her head to the side "Bending? I don't understand..."

Sakura looked up as the Aang flew across the cloud making it disappear and then landing back on the ground handing the pouch back to Katara.

"Wow there's hardly any in here."

"I'm sorry okay! It's a desert cloud I did all I could! What's anyone else doing? What are you doing?" he asked pointing to Katara

"Trying to keep everyone together." She answered

Sakura however was still awe struck by the young boys amazing abilities but this brought about even more questions for her. And to be honest she was little scared to reach a conclusion.

"Bending..."

She wondered if that was some king of technique that she just hadn't heard of. It had to be right? That was the only _logical_ explanation she had. Coming up with any other conclusions were actually frightening her.

* * *

They continued to walk through the desert together; Sakura still couldn't think of any solution to her situation; but she was begging to get the feeling that she may be further from home than she initially thought. What she had assumed for now was that she had somehow been transported-it wasn't the first time something like this had happened to her but at the same time it felt different than the other times. There was a bright light that sucked her in; she woke up in a desert; she met a few strangers; then she discovered some of them had odd abilities.

'Am I even on earth anymore?'

Suddenly Toph fell over and cursed "Crud, I am so sick of not feeling where I'm going and who leaves a boat in the middle of the desert?"

"Boat?" asked Sakura, she couldn't see any boat, only a small stub of a rock that Toph must have fallen over.

"Yeah, I kicked it hard enough to feel plenty of vibrations." Toph told her

And the confusion continued.

Aang threw his staff over and created a giant gust of wind that revealed the structure that Toph was talking about and it did look a bit like a boat.

"It's one of the gliders that the sand bender use." said Katara as she made her way over to the compass "And look there's some kind of compass. I bet it could point us out of here. Aang; you can bend a breeze so we can sail it, we're gonna make it!"

Sakura couldn't take it anymore

"Hold on!" Sakura said holding her hands up making everyone look at her "What is happening? I don't get any of this? Bending what is that?"

Everyone looked at her in confusion now "Sakura are you feeling alright?" asked Toph

Sakura grabbed the end of her hair "I just don't get any of this."

"Wait...is it possible you've never heard of bending before?" Katara asked in surprise

Sakura nodded "Yes that's exactly what I'm saying."

"Bending refers to the manipulation of one of the four elements that's earth, wind, water and fire. I'm a water bender so I bend water, Toph's an earthbender so she bends earth and Aang's an airbender but he is also the avatar so he can bend all four elements."

Sakura collapsed on the ground "That is making about as much sense to me as landing up in the desert. Absolutely none; I've never heard of benders before or heard of an avatar."

"HUUUUUUUUUUUUHH"

"Okay who are you exactly?" asked Aang narrowing his eyes

Sakura stood up straighter "My name is Haruno Sakura; I am a ninja from the village hidden in the leaves also known as Konoha, I am an elite medical ninja and apprentice to the hokage Tsunade."

Toph was using her earth bending to detect if the girl was lying or not by feeling her heartbeat and breathing and she wasn't "She's telling the truth."

Sakura nodded "That's right; and who are you?"

"I'm Katara a waterbender and this is my brother Sokka and we're from the Southern Water Tribe."

"I'm Toph Beifon and I'm from the Beifon family in the earth kingdom; I'm also an earthbender."

"I'm Aang and I come from the Southern air temple and I'm the avatar."

The group just stood there for several minutes before Sakura broke the silence

"I think it's clear that whatever is going on right now; I'm a long way from home."

"Maybe you're not from this world" Aang suggested suddenly making everyone's heads snap to him "I mean think about it, you fell from the sky; you don't know what bending is...do you know about the war?"

Sakura shook her head "There's a war?"

"Only a hundred year one that's been going on in this world." Katara answered "But if you're not from this world...how can you be here?"

"I don't know." Sakura told her truthfully "I...I just woke up here after a storm."

"Seems like our little group is about to get a lot more complicated." Toph said offhandedly

* * *

After the eventful conversation, everyone had set themselves on the sand glider and tensions needed to be cleared. Sakura had explained to the group completely about what had happened and in turn they gave her a bit of insight. It was strange to believe that she was in another world but there was no other explanation. They told her about the war that was going on in this world. About four nations; Water tribes, Air nomads, Fire nation and Earth kingdoms; and how those born to it sometime inherited the ability to use one of the elements that was known as bending but then there was the avatar that was born once in every life cycle. They told her that Aang was the current avatar and that his job was to restore balance to the world. There was a war going on with the Fire Nation against the other three nations. Sakura was intrigued to hear about it. They told her that Aang was the only person in the world who could use all four elements and that he was needed to save the world. That was a lot to take in over a ride but Sakura managed somehow.

"So...I'm really not in my world anymore." Sakura murmured in disbelief running a hand through her head.

"That would explained you hair" Sokka said

Sakura pulled a face "It's not really that common in my world either."

They had been travelling for a while now.

"I know it's a lot to take in but I'm sure we can help."Katara promised as she looked down at her map and then at the compass "For now though we should just focus on getting out of this desert."

Sakura nodded "You're right."

"The needle on this compass isn't pointing north according to my map" Katara observed

"I'm sure the sand folks who built this know how to get around here." Sokka said still in a daze from the cactus juice.

They saw a rock coming into view "That must be the magnetic centre of the desert."

Toph leaped for joy "A rock yes!"

"Maybe we can find some water there." Said Katara

"Maybe we can find some sand benders." Aang said softly as he bent them towards it.

Sakura never thought she'd be so happy to see a rock before in her life. The rock was actually very large; as they climbed up the sun had started to rise. Toph fell down on the ground and Sakura winced when she heard a cracking sound only to see Toph making a rock angel.

"Ouch." She muttered realising that was earth bending before looking at the opening of the rock "Let's check inside."

Everyone went into the cave like structure, there was something seeping on the walls however, a yellowish type of fluid. Sokka saw it and scooped it up with his hand before tasting it and spitting it out to which Katara reprimanded him for like a mother scolding her child.

"You've been hallucinating on cactus juice all day and then you just like something you see stuck to a wall of a cave?"

"I have a natural curiosity."

Toph felt the sides of the cave "I don't think this is a normal cave. This was carved by something."

Sakura realised that Toph was right, and Aang pointed out the odd shape of it. Now she really had a bad feeling.

"There's something that's buzzing in here...something that's coming for us!"

Everyone ran out of the cave as quickly as their feet could carry them, the buzzing noises were getting louder and closer and as they exited the cave so did something else.

Dozens of giant creature that looked like they were crossed between a vulture and a bee flew out and although Sakura had confirmed her suspicions before she couldn't help but note once again that she was definitely not in her world anymore.

The group was being surrounded as Aang went in to attack; joined soon after by Toph but due to the creatures flying she wasn't able to see where they were unless they landed on the ground.

Sakura watched as Toph manipulated the rock to shoot one of them off the ground.

"Wow" she couldn't help but marvel at how simple it was to manipulate elements for them. To do something even remotely similar to that there was a series of hand signs that ninja had to make and you had to be born with that specific chakra type for it. This bending was completely different though, it was like an extension of these people.

"We have to get out of here; I'm completely out of water to bend." Said Katara backing up

Sakura turned to Toph "Can you make another boulder like before?"

"Sure" Toph said making one huge rock appear right in front of Sakura

"What are you going to-?

Without letting her finish asking, Sakura allowed chakra to flow into her fists before she grasped the rock; picking it up. Causing the entire group to gasp in shock and disbelief.

"Is she actually doing that or am I still hallucinating from the cactus juice?" asked Sokka mouth slacked.

Sakura lifted the rock into the air and aimed it right at two of the buzzard bees.

"How did you-

"Explanations can wait." Sakura said as she moved on to attack another creature; grabbing it and swinging it across the desert.

Toph grinned "Can we keep her?"

Just then one of the creatures grabbed Momo and started flying off with him to which Aang followed in a hot rage.

"I'm not losing anyone else out here." He said angrily

While Aang went after Momo everyone else made their way down; they continued fighting against the buzzard bees but every time more would just surround them.

That was until several giant forms of earth rose up and disposed of them.

When they looked in front of them there were now several figures wearing bandages and rags wrapped around them.

"Who are those guys?"

"Sand benders." Toph told Sakura with narrowed eyes

Aang appeared again soon after with Momo safe.

One of the men from the group approached the teens with suspicion written all over his face.

"What are you doing with a sand bender sailor? From the looks of it you stole this from the Hami Tribe."

"We found the sailor abandoned in the desert" Katara started "We're travelling with the Avatar. Our bison was stolen and we have to get to Ba Sing Se"

Another one of the sand benders stepped forward, he was much younger than the first man that spoke "You dare accuse our people of theft while you stroll in on a stolen sand sailor!?"

Toph narrowed her eyes and Sakura noticed "What's wrong?"

"I recognise the son's voice; he's the one that stole Aapa."

"Are you sure?" asked Katara worriedly

"I never forget a voice." Toph confirmed confidently

Aang turned to the sand benders furious; he marched forward holding his staff up "You stole Aapa! Where is he what did you do to him?"

"They're lying" the sand bender exclaimed "They're the thieves!"

Aang struck his staff onto the ground and sent a gust of wind towards one of the sailors destroying it.

"Where is my bison!?"

Now Sakura understood why Aang had seemed so aloof and distance and cold. He was upset because this bison was important to him and someone stole it.

"You tell me where he is now!" Aang said destroying another sailor.

Sakura bit her lip "Should we stop him?"

"Why? They deserve it." Toph said frowning before she pointed to the sand benders "You said to put a muzzle on him!"

Sakura glanced at Katara and she was looking down with a disdained expression.

"You muzzled Aapa!"

Aang snapped and Sakura saw the tattoo marks on his head and arms glow before a giant whirl wind appeared.

"I'm sorry-I didn't know it belonged to the Avatar."

"Tell me where Aapa is!" Aang snapped

"I traded him..." the guy said nervously "He's probably in Ba Sing Se by now; they were going to sell him there. Please we'll escort you out of the desert we'll help anyway we can!"

But the begging wasn't working because Aang was too far gone for that. Sokka told them all to run quickly. Sakura watched as Aang rose into the air, his face furious, and his eyes glowing deeply.

Sokka grabbed a hold of Sakura and pulled her out "You should move away right now. He isn't in control when he's like this!"

"What's happening to him?"

"He's in the avatar state" Toph told her as they ran

Sakura looked around before noticing that Katara was still standing there; she walked over to Aang completely calm and grabbed his wrist before pulling him down and engulfing him in a hug.

It was then that Sakura saw he had tears streaming down his face. His tattoos stopped glowing and the wind calmed again.

She may have arrived at a complicated time in another world but what mattered to her now was helping this group.

She was just wondering what exactly she got herself into.

 **Well that's pretty much all I'm going to put in for the first chapter. I hoped you enjoyed it-I've been wanting to write this kind of crossover for a while I just wasn't sure of how to set it out. I was initially going to split up the parts of them in the desert but then I figured it might be better to just put this whole thing in one chapter and get it over with in one go.**

 **Don't forget to review!**


	2. Chapter 2:The serpents pass

**Before we start I would like to say thanks to all my wonderful readers for the reviews. I've finally been able to update after my holiday. Finals are coming up soon so I'm pretty sure I won't be able to update for a while.**

 **Anyway you know the drill: Read and Enjoy.**

"So you're literally able to make yourself super strong to fight using chakra?" asked Toph with an excited expression on her face.

Sakura laughed and nodded "Yes; that's the third time today I reminded you of that plus you saw-

She cut herself off slapping her hand over her mouth "Shoot sorry."

Toph laughed "That's okay; I do that all the time. Still it's just so cool!"

"Not really; not as cool as your earthbending." Sakura grinned back "I mean using it to actually sense where you're going is amazing."

Sokka rolled his eyes before he looked down at the maps in front of him. It had only been a day since they had gotten out of the desert and only a day since Sakura had started travelling with them.

"And with yet another girl in the group I feel like we have officially lost all sense of masculinity."

"Excuse me?" Sakura asked placing her hands on her hips

"Look no offense but you do have pink hair."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at Sokka "You do know I could throw you ten feet into the air with one arm right? Might want to be more careful with your words."

Sokka gulped in response and went back to looking at his map. "Well it is an unusual colour; no one in this world has it."

Sakura shrugged.

After finding herself waking up in another world where she met a couple of teens travelling through the desert caught in a situation as desperate as her own they decided that they were going to travel together to Ba Sing Se to find Aang's bison Aapa at the same time they would try and help Sakura to figure out a way to get her back home.

They were currently gathered at a watering hole with rocks surrounding them. Sakura and Toph were sitting near the edge together splashing their feet in the water while Aang and Katara were swimming and Sokka was looking over his maps near them to figure out where they needed to go next to get to Ba Sing Se with Momo peering over his shoulder.

Katara appeared from the top of the watering hole standing near the edge "Water bending bomb!"

She jumped off the edge and into the water where she bended a huge wave that sent Aang flying out of the water onto land and splashing the forms of Sakura; Sokka; Toph and Momo. Sakura and Toph laughed at the situation but Sokka was less than pleased.

"Look what you did to the maps from the Spirit Library!"

"Sorry" Katara said before bending the water out of the map.

Everyone gathered around Sokka and the map "So we just got out of the desert and we need to get to Ba Sing Se which is here." He pointed to the map "It looks like the only pass connecting the south and the north is this sliver of land called the Serpents Pass."

Sakura raised her hand "I don't like the sound of that and it's not just because I'm new here."

"She's right; you sure that's the best way to go?" Toph asked crossing her arms

"This is the only way to go, it's not like we have Aapa to fly us there."

Katara frowned at Sokka's nonchalant attitude "Shush up about Aapa can't you at least try to sensitive?"

Everyone looked at Aang who gave them a blank stare "Katara its okay, I know I was upset about losing Aapa before but I just want to focus on getting to Ba Sing Se and telling the earth king about the solar eclipse."

Since Sakura didn't know how long she would be with the group they decided to share their plans with her, explaining that the reason they were in the desert was to find a library where they also found information on the Fire Nation about a solar eclipse that would make them lose their bending abilities. That would be their weak point and it was information that they needed to get to the earth king so that could plan an attack.

'I literally just left a world that came back from a war to end up smack in another.' Sakura thought sighing

"Then to Ba Sing Se we go no more distractions." Sokka said folding up the maps.

As everyone got ready to move out they heard a voice

"Hello there fellow refugees."

Turning around they saw a man with two girls, one of the women was clearly pregnant judging by her belly.

'And not long before due' Sakura thought

"So are you guys heading to Ba Sing Se too?" asked Aang

"Sure are, we're trying to get there before my wife Ying has her baby." The man explained rubbing his wife's stomach.

"Great, we can travel through the serpents pass together." Said Katara

They gasped "The serpents pass, only the truly desperate take that deadly route."

"Deadly route...nice pick Sokka." Toph said sarcastically before punching Sokka's arm

"Well we are desperate." He retorted rubbing his arm that was probably going to be bruised.

"You should come with us to Full Moon Bay, fairies take refuges across the lake it's the fastest way to Ba Sing Se."

"And it's hidden so the Fire Nation can't find it." added Ying

Peaceful Ferry ride or deadly pass?

The answer was a no brainer.

* * *

The ferry rides were hidden in a mountain; when they got in Sakura couldn't believe how many refuges they were. Then again there was a war going on. It was explained to her that everyone was looking for a better life safe behind the walls of Ba Sing Se. She was told that Ba Sing Se was supposedly untouchable with its great walls and safe from the Fire Nation.

"It's really sad." Sakura muttered as they stood in line "And I've seen a lot of suffering in my world. Suppose no matter where it is; war always has the same results."

The group stood in line for the tickets; the woman who was giving it to them was very bitter and crude.

"Next" she called

When they got to the front of the line and Aang asked for five tickets the women told him that he needed passports. Since this was new information none of them were prepared and Sakura being from another world clearly wouldn't have a passport. Aang and Sokka had tried to persuade the women to letting them on with Sokka mentioning that Aang was the avatar however it seems that a lot of other people had attempted to play that card by disguising themselves as Aang.

"This is bad." Sakura whispered to the girls "What do you we do now?"

"I'll handle this." Toph said reaching into her robe and walking forward.

The blind girl stepped up to the booth and placed a document down "My name is Toph Beifong and I'll need five tickets.  
The women instantly went to completely awe struck as she looked at the passport.

"The golden seal of the flying board; it is my honour to help anyone of the Beifong family."

Sakura looked shocked and turned to Katara for an explanation.

"Toph may not look it but she's actually the daughter of a REALLY wealthy family" Katara murmured to her as they watched the women handling the tickets bow her head to Toph. "Too bad she doesn't know Toph ran away."

"What?" Sakura asked

"Toph's blindness caused her parents to be extremely over protective of her, they wouldn't even let her earth bend. She ran away so that she could teach Aang earth bending. We haven't mentioned it since she came along though." Katara explained

Sokka appeared out of nowhere and handed them their tickets "Toph got our tickets let's go!"

They started making their way towards the ferry but then just as Sokka was bragging about how good they scammed that women for their tickets a girl with short brown hair; wearing a green and white uniform grabbed Sokka asking for his ticket and passport making everyone stop nervously.

"Is there a problem?" Sokka asked nervously

"Yeah, I got a problem with you. I've seen your type before probably sarcastic think you're hilarious and let me guess...You're travelling with the Avatar."

"Do I know you?"

The girl grabbed him by his collar and Sakura was worried that they were going to have to intervene.

"You mean you don't remember? Maybe you remember this"

Then she kissed him on his cheek to which confused Sakura and made Sokka beam and shout out "Suki!"

He hugged her

"Sokka it's good to see you."

* * *

Turns out that security guard was actually an old friend of theirs from their previous travels; she was a resident of a small island known as Kyoshi.

Suki looked over at Sakura "I haven't seen you before; just join the group?"

Sakura nodded rubbing the back of her head "Yeah..."

"Is that your natural hair colour? Sorry but I have to know."

Sakura guessed that pink hair was far from common in this world; in fact it wasn't exactly all that common back in her world either but at least people didn't stop to stare at it. So far all Sakura has seen are people with either black or brown coloured hair, not even a blonde or redhead.

"Yeah it is." Sakura mumbled

"So why are you guys getting tickets for the Ferry wouldn't you just fly across on Aapa?"

Everyone's expressions dropped

"Aapa is missing, we hope to find him in Ba Sing Se" explained Katara

"I'm sorry to hear that." Suki turned to Aang "Are you doing ok?"

Aang looked at her then at the rest of them who were giving him a similar expression "I'm fine. Would everybody stop worrying about me?"

Then they heard a familiar voice calling Aang and saw the pregnant women Ying with her husband "Avatar Aang you have to help us. Someone took all of our belongings. Our tickets, our passports everything is gone."

She began to sob on her husband's shoulder.

"I'll talk to the lady for you." He said

Aang went to go talk to the women at the ticket booth but it was no use, she wouldn't allow them a ticket without a passport.

'Why do I get the feeling this ride isn't going to be smooth?'

* * *

Her hunch was correct, Sakura, Katara, Toph, Suki, Sokka, Aang and the three refuges were standing in front of the beginning of the sliver of land known as the Serpents pass. After being unable to convince the women to grant them the tickets Aang said he would help get the three to Ba Sing Se by leading them through the dangerous route known as the Serpents pass.

Now they were standing at the entrance of the pass starring at a large gate in front of them. The pass was made of sharp dark jagged rocks that went in one direction.

"This is the Serpents pass?" asked Sokka with slight disappointment in his voice "I guess they misnamed it."

"Look at this writing; how awful" the women said looking at the writing on the entrance gate.

"Abandon Hope" Katara read

"How can we abandon hope? That's all we have." Ying cried

Aang looked out into the distance at the ocean "I don't know. The monks use to say that hope was just a distraction; so maybe we do need to abandon it."

"What are you talking about?" Katara asked in concern

"Hope isn't going to get us into Ba Sing Se and it's not going to help us find Aapa. We need to focus on getting across this pass."

As Aang began to walk ahead of everyone Sakura couldn't help but wonder exactly what kind of person Aang was. According to Katara he was actually very fun loving and not the serious type most of the time but with Aapa gone it seems that had changed.

'Abandon hope?' Sakura thought

The trip across the pass at the start of their journey was a bit rough because there was a narrow pass that they had to cross; walking along the edge of the pass and avoiding being spotted by the Fire Nation ships. They watched as the Fire Nation ship passed them by.

"The Fire Nation controls the western lake" Suki explained to them "Rumour has it they're working on something big on the other side and don't want anyone to find out what it is."

As Sakura looked out at the ship sailing pass them she asked "I hope it doesn't have something to do with Ba Sing Se."

Aang looked back at her "What makes you say that?"

Sakura shrugged "Just a thought."

Even for a ninja Sakura was always known to have excellent analytical skills; of course she also didn't rule out that this might be her own paranoia talking. Either way the topic was dropped as they continued to make their way across the deadly pass.

"This over the ferry ride just peachy." Sokka mumbled

Sakura rolled her eyes "You've been complaining for over an hour do you ever stop?"

"Nope" Aang; Katara and Toph answered for her.

Suddenly the rock path gave way under one of the refugees luckily thanks to Toph's quick earthbending she was able to save him from falling but part of the path falling into the water alerted the ship to their whereabouts and it began firing rocks with fire at them.

"They spotted us; let's go let's go!" Sokka said as everyone started to pick up the pace while Aang diverted the first fire back at the ship before more were catapulted at them.

After another fire hit the path Sokka pushed Suki out of the way of the rock debris but that put Sokka now under it; Toph used her earth bending to save Sokka by creating a barrier to deflect it.

"Suki are you okay?" Sokka asked rushing over to her; completely ignoring the fact that he was almost crushed by rocks and that Toph just saved him. "You have to be more careful; come on."

Sakura watched as Sokka pulled Suki down the path to safety while Toph just stood there with a slight pout on her face "Thanks for saving my life Toph-hey no problem Sokka."

Sakura smiled and patted Toph on her head "Nice job."

Toph smiled "Thanks."

* * *

Finally making it through their first day, the group set up camp as night fell. Sakura did a check up on Ying to make sure that she and the baby were doing alright.

After that she went further up on the pass to take a look over and see how far they were from the end mainly because she didn't want to stick around to hear Sokka and his over protective comments with Suki; the water tribe boy had already told Suki not to sleep near a ledge thus moving her sleeping mat and then shouted when he thought he saw a spider on the mat.

'Seriously that level of over-protectiveness is enough to make any girl go insane'

As Sakura went further up the pass she spotted Katara and Aang up and decided to go check on them and then ended up hearing their conversation.

"What's going on with you? In the desert all you cared about was finding Aapa and now it's like you don't care about him at all."

"You saw what I did out there, I was so upset about losing Aapa that I couldn't control myself. I hated feeling like that."

"But now you're not letting yourself feel anything at all. I know sometimes it hurts more to hope and it hurts more to care but you have to promise me that you won't stop caring."

Katara held out her arms for Aang saying that he needed a hug but he just politely bowed and thanked her for her concern before leaving.

Sakura decided that was enough eavesdropping and to just show herself to Katara "You sure you're not the one that needs a hug?"

"Sakura don't sneak up on me like that!" Katara exclaimed placing a hand over her heart

"I'm a ninja; it's instinct!" Sakura argued before joining Katara on the ledge "So you're worried about Aang?"

"Yes; I mean I know that Aang doesn't want to lose control again but...the way he's acting now is just so cold. He won't let himself show that he's worried about Aapa anymore."

Sakura sighed before sitting down, her feet dangling over the ledge "When I was twelve, I lost someone I cared about and it was so hard for me handle that I let my emotions cloud my judgment and ended up hurting a lot of people because I was hurt. I very nearly lost one of my closest friends... and made him make a stupid promise that he has been trying to full fill since then."

Sakura's heart clenched as she thought back to her friends; to Naruto and Sasuke. She wondered if her friends were worried about her.

"I think you should just let him be for now and wait until Aang comes to his own realisation."

Katara nodded "You might be right."

"Besides no one can keep up a strong front forever." Sakura said softly closing her eyes

* * *

After having her little talk with Katara Sakura decided to head on back but then she spotted Sokka and Suki on the other side of the pass looking up at the moon.

"Look; I know you're just trying to help but I can take care of myself." Suki said softly

"I know you can." Sokka replied

The serious expression on his face was something Sakura felt did not suite him very well; the demeanour and aura was odd.

"Then why are you acting so overprotective?" Suki asked

"It's so hard to lose someone you care about." Sokka told her turning back up to the moon "Something happened at the North Pole and I couldn't protect someone; I don't want anything like that to ever happen again."

Suki gave a small smile "I lost someone I care about; he didn't die he just went away; I only got a few days to get to know him but he was smart and brave and funny."

Sokka stood up frowning in jealousy "Who is this guy is he taller than me?"

"No he's about your height."

Sakura shook her head; was Sokka really that dense?

"Is he better looking?"

"It is you stupid" Suki said standing

"Oh"

Suki and Sokka stared at each other before moving closer in

'And that's my cue to leave.' Sakura thought averting her eyes but then she heard Sokka

"I can't."

Turning back Sakura saw that for whatever reason Sokka had turned his back on Suki.

"I'm sorry." Suki said

"No; you shouldn't be." Sokka said before walking away.

'What is with the men in this group!?' Sakura wondered in annoyance.

While on his way back to camp Sakura caught up to Sokka and pulled him to one side.

"Okay what was that about?"

Sokka looked at her confused "What was what about?"

"What happened with you and Suki?" Sakura said crossing her arms over her chest "I know you like her so why did you hesitate and turn away?"

"You were spying on me?" Sokka asked frowning

"Just answer the question." Sakura said before her face softened "You like Suki don't you?"

"Of course I do."

"Then why didn't you kiss her?"

Sokka bit his lip and looked up at the moon "I can't..."

"What do you have to guilty about?" Sakura asked placing a hand on his shoulder

"I'm not guilty-

"I'd know that look anywhere because I've worn it before; Sokka you're feeling guilty about something. Does it have to do with this person you couldn't' protect?"

Sokka lowered his head and sat on the ground "Yes..."

Sakura joined him on the ground crossing her legs "Care to tell me the story? I'm basically a stranger so I can't really judge."

Sokka began to tell Sakura of his; Katara's and Aang's early travels; they had gone to the Northern water tribe in the North pole so that Aang and Katara could find a master to teach them waterbending. While they were there they had been introduced to the leader of the tribe and his daughter princess Yue.

"Let me guess you and her became...

"Sort of." Sokka said his eyes downcast "While my sister and Aang were learning water bending I was with her. Then the Fire Nation launched an attack; see in the tribe there were two spirits; the ocean and moon spirit. The general's aim for attacking was to kill the moon spirit which he almost did."

"Almost?" asked Sakura

"He managed to kill the moon spirit but Yue who had been given life by the moon spirit when she was a child had been able to return the life essence to it-she became the moon spirit."

Sakura felt her heart clench "Sokka...

"She sacrificed herself to save everyone."

"Then why are you so downcast and blaming yourself?" the pinkette asked

"BECAUSE I WASN'T ABLE TO PROTECT HER." Sokka cried "HER FATHER TOLD ME TO PROTECT HER AND I COULDN'T; I JUST LET HER DO IT; I LET HER SACRIFICE HERSELF BECAUSE I WASN'T STRONG ENOUGH TO STOP HER; IT'S ALL MY FAULT."

'Looking like this; he reminds me of myself at a point.' Sakura thought

Sakura watched as Sokka broke down; hands in his knees. "It's not your fault Sokka; sometimes these things happen and there's nothing we can do about it."

"But why did it have to happen to her?"

Sakura took a breath "Sometimes you have to accept the things that happen and move on. If you don't you will remain at a stalemate; punishing yourself isn't going to bring her back and it won't appease her either. I don't think she would want you to keep blaming yourself. If anything I bet all it does is hurt her."

With that said Sakura stood up and began making her way back to camp.

"And you should remember; love isn't limited."

* * *

The following day the group continued to make their way through Serpents Pass. A little while after travelling they came to a part of the pass that was cut off by it being flooded; Sakura could easily pass over by walking over but the others wouldn't.

"Everyone form a single line" Katara ordered

After everyone did as told Katara started bending the water to move out of the way as they made their way through to the other side of the pass. Sakura still couldn't help but marvel at their amazing abilities. They continued to walk through the water until something swam across from them.

Something really big.

Everyone stopped to look "What is that thing?"

It swam straight through the water barrier breaking it. Toph was quick to bring them all up on land before they drifted in the water. When they got on top all they saw was something green with scales circling them.

Then out of the water emerged a large sea serpent.

"So that's why it's called the Serpents Pass." Sokka observed

"This world just gets better and better." Sakura said sarcastically getting ready to fight.

Sokka grabbed Momo and held him up "Oh great and powerful sea serpent please accept this humble and tasty offering."

"Sokka!" Katara scolded

"I'll distract it, Katara get everyone across." Aang said before flying up into the air

Katara created an ice path for them to walk across; after everyone was across Katara went to help Aang.

"I'm coming to." Sakura said

"You can't water bend." Sokka pointed out

Sakura smiled "I don't need to."

With that she started walking on the water and running towards Aang and Katara; not even bothering to turn and see everyone's shocked expressions.

Sakura ran up to the sea serpent and with chakra coated fist, landed a powerful punch into its head but it was quick to recover.

Sakura began to make some hand signs "Water style; water dragon jutsu!"

A giant water dragon almost the size of the sea serpent appeared from the water and began attacking it. Aang and Katara stared in amazement.

"We are so learning that!" Aang said

The two water serpents began to clash but it didn't hold up very long because the sea serpent attacked Sakura's water dragon by slashing it with its tail reverting it back to normal water.

"I could use some help here" Sakura called

Aang and Katara started to create a whirl pool that flung the sea snake into the side of the pass before it swam away.

"That takes care of that." Katara said sighing in relief

* * *

After a few more hours of walking the group finally made it to the end of Serpents Pass.

"There's the wall" Sokka cried in relief "Now it's nothing but smooth sailing to Ba Sing Se."

Suddenly Ying let out a cry and everyone turned to her in alarm "Oh no the babies coming!"

Sokka began to freak out "What right now? Can't you hold it in?"

Katara was quick to step in "Sokka calm down, I helped Gran-gran deliver plenty of babies."

"This isn't an arctic seal this is an actual human thing!" Sokka exclaimed

Katara didn't waver "It's called a baby and I helped her deliver plenty of those to."

"Plus, I'm also a trained medic from where I come from so I can help." Sakura added raising her hand

"Great." Katara said "Aang get some rags, Sokka water; Toph I need you to make an earth tent."

Everyone started running around while Sakura, Katara and Suki went in to help Ying.

* * *

The full labour process was one Sakura had dealt with plenty of times before only difference now was that someone was delivering their baby in another world instead of in a hospital.

"Okay get ready to push." Sakura instructed

"One, two three..." Katara started

"Push!"

Just as they said that Sokka came in with the water and fainted; Sakura turned around and grabbed the water that was in the pouch.

"Did Sokka just faint!?" Suki asked looking at him.

Sakura restrained herself from laughing "And I'm the reason the group is losing its masculinity?"

* * *

A little while later Sakura and Katara were exclaiming in happiness the baby's gender which was a girl. Soon after everyone else appeared into the tent Toph apologised saying that they had to make sure Sokka wasn't going to faint again.

"She sounds healthy" said Toph

"She's beautiful" Katara told her

"It's so squishy looking?" Sokka observed

Sakura rolled her eyes "Oh the day you have kids...

"What should we name her?"

Ying looked at her husband and smiled "I want our babies name to be unique; I want it to mean something."

As Aang entered and saw the baby his eyes started to fill with tears "I've been going through a really hard time lately but you've made me hopeful again."

"I know what I want to name our baby now...Hope."

"That's a perfect name."

Sakura smiled as she looked at the couple and then at Aang, it was like she told Katara; he'd come to his own realisation in time that feelings isn't a weakness.

* * *

The group left the family in the earth tent while they went outside to decide on their next choice of actions.

Aang pulled Katara to the side to talk to her.

"I thought I was trying to be strong but really I was just running away from my feelings seeing this family together so full of happiness and love it's reminded me about how I feel about Aapa and how I feel about you." Aang said looking at Katara

Sakura smiled as she watched Aang and Katara hug; the rest of them went to join him.

"I promise I'll find Aapa as fast as I can." Aang said taking his glider from Toph

"See you in the big city" Sokka told him placing a hand on his shoulder

Toph punched Aang on his shoulder "Say hi to that big fuzz ball for me."

"You'll find him Aang" Katara said

"Good luck" Sakura told him

They watched as Aang and Momo took off to the skies towards Ba Sing Se. Sakura narrowed her eyes; she felt as if this was the calm before the storm.

"Well I guess that's everything for now." Sokka said

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him and pointed over to where Suki was "Not quite; get over there now."

Sokka mumbled under his breath before walking towards Suki while Sakura pulled Toph and Katara away.

"What's going on?" asked Katara

"Nothing." Sakura replied curtly

"Does it have anything to do with Sokka and Suki's hearts pounding in their chests?" Toph asked "Because I can feel it from here."

Then Toph froze "Oh boy..."

"What?" Katara asked wanting to turn around but Sakura stopped her and turned her head back.

"They're kissing." Toph shuddered

Sakura laughed softly "I guess it doesn't matter if I turn you away from them huh?"

* * *

It didn't take long before Aang and Momo reached the outer wall of Ba Sing Se; they flew to the top together and stood on it looking over into the distance but what they saw shocked them both. Further ahead Aang and Momo saw several fire nation tanks and moving in the middle of them was a huge drill with the Fire Nation insignia on it.

Momo made a noise and looked at Aang

"Sorry Momo; Aapa's gonna have to wait."

 **There we go next chapter will be waiting for all of you lovely readers soon.**

 **Don't forget to review**


	3. Chapter 3:The drill

**Hey everyone, it's good to be back in the land of fanfiction. Now I've finally been able to update this story along with a couple of others so I do hope that you will read and enjoy.**

 **I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER**

* * *

"So how did you walk on water?"

"Again Chakra." Sakura repeated to Sokka for the fourth time; after Aang had gone off on his own to the walls the rest of the group were making their way there slowly.

"What else can that do?"

"Depends." Sakura said in thought "Something similar to bending abilities is that there are certain types of chakra like water, earth, fire, lightning, wind...but there are those who are able to use more than one type and control different elements just not to as much of an extent like you guys can. We can also use chakra to heal, increase strength, walk on water, walls, increase our speed and we can use it for summoning creatures that help us fight."

"Wow..." Katara trailed "That sounds amazing."

Sakura smiled "Really? What I think is amazing is your bending abilities; what's the energy source for that though?"

"Chi" Katara told her "It's our life energy."

"Chakra a combination of both spiritual and physical energy that flows within our bodies; it's kind of the same thing." Sakura said "Well not the same but similar in concept."

"Hey guys can we cut the boring talk?" Toph interrupted "Were always there."

The group was getting closer and closer to the wall of Ba Sing Se and Sakura couldn't believe the size. It was literally a giant wall surrounding a large area and within those walls was supposedly a city.

"Amazing, and this was made from earth bending?" asked Sakura in awe

"That's right" said Katara

As they continued on they saw Aang and Momo flying back towards them which lead to a moment of confusion and then concern.

"What are you doing here?" asked Katara

"Weren't you going to go looking for Aapa?" Sakura asked frowning slightly

"Something stopped me, something big." Aang told them with a concerned look.

"What exactly?" asked Sakura with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

* * *

Reaching the wall, Toph and Aang earth bended them up to the top of it; that's where they all saw the giant drill that was heading right for the wall. According to Aang this was an attack from the Fire Nation. To say the drill was big was an understatement...it was colossal.

"What do we do now?" Sakura asked

Just then a few men appeared from the other side of the wall "What are you people doing here? Civilian's aren't allowed on the wall."

Aang stepped forward "I'm the avatar; take me to whoever's in charge."

While the three refuges that were travelling with them had been taken off the wall and hopefully out of harm's way if they could figure out how to stop the drill; Sakura, Aang, Sokka, Katara and Toph were all taken by the earth kingdom soldiers to the general that was in charge of dealing with this dilemma.

The general was an elderly man with a goatee; while he welcomed the group's presence he told them that their help was not needed for this situation.

"You help is not needed." He said not in a scorning way more of a reassuring way.

"Not needed?" Aang asked in disbelief  
"Not needed." Confirmed the general Saan

"I assure you the Fire Nation cannot penetrate this wall." He said "Many have tried to break through it but none of succeeded."

"What about the Dragon of the West; he got in." Toph interjected crossing her arms over her chest.

"You have got to tell me about that sometime." Sakura told her now intrigued.

"Technically yes but he was quickly expunged; nevertheless that's why the city is named Ba Sing Se-the impenetrable city. They don't call it Na Sing Se" he laughed before stopping suddenly "That means penetrable city."

Sakura rolled her eyes "Okay and what about the drill?"

"Don't you worry" the general said walking towards the edge of the wall "To stop it, I've sent an elite platoon of earth benders called the Terror team."

Sokka couldn't help but admire the group name which just made Sakura raise a pink eyebrow at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Sokka asked "It's a good group name!"

Sakura sighed and averted her attention to the open land where the drill was. She was curious to see some more bending in action.

They watched as the platoon attempted to intercept the drill but they were the size of ants in comparison. Their bending proved futile to stop the giant drill. The design of it disallowed them to stop it using earthbending. And although it was quite a distance away; the general was looking through a telescope and could see things clearly-including the two Fire Nation girls that were bringing the giant earth bender soldiers down like it was a day to day activities.

"We're doomed!" exclaimed the general which made Sokka smack him

"Get a hold of yourself!"

Toph jumped in as well "Maybe you'd like the avatar's help now?"

"Yes please." He said looking down.

"So the question is how are you we going to stop that thing?" Aang asked

The gang looked down at the drill getting closer to the wall slowly but surely. Sakura was also baffled as to what to do about this situation. Then she saw everyone turning to Sokka.

"What?" he asked

"You're the idea guy" Aang pointed out

Sokka narrowed his eyes "So I'm the only one who can ever come up with a plan? That's a lot of pressure."

"And also complaining guy." Katara added with a smile

"That I can live with."

"We've got injured over here." Shouted someone

Sakura and Katara immediately moved

* * *

There was a makeshift infirmary set up on the wall where all the soldiers that had been sent to stop the drill were now lying about in pain.

"I'll take the right side you take the left." Katara said

Sakura nodded and was off.

As they treated the men; they discovered that they all had the same problem, they were all paralysed. Sakura had checked for any signs of poison or points where needles may have entered to do this but there were none the only other thing she could think of that would be able to do this was-

"He's Chi is blocked." Katara explained coming up to her "I've just talked to one of the soldiers and he said that he was hit by a bunch of quick jabs. I know who did it to."

Sakura looked up at Katara "You do?"

"Yes, it was Tylee. She's a girl from the Fire Nation and she's able to take peoples bending away and paralyse them by hitting certain points in the human body."

To say that Sakura wasn't impressed would be a lie, hitting the right pressure points in the human body especially during battle was no easy task. In her world, to block someone's chakra they have to physically be able to see the network-meaning that in this world people must have a network similar but it's chi; the network should also be a lot less complex than the chakra network because only people like the Hyuga's who are able to see through their opponents know the points to hit; not to mention to block chakra they have to hit it with chakra.

"So she blocked off their chi huh? That's impressive." Sakura said

"She's not even the real problem." Aang said

"He's right." Sokka said "If she's here; then that means that the fire nation princess Azula is here as well."

"You guys sure have a lot of enemies." Sakura said

"That's not even the half of it." Toph told her "You should see her brother."

"But they all derive from the Fire Nation." Sokka added

Sakura nodded; she was really starting to truly understand the state of this world and the conditions that this war had left them in.

Something clicked in Sakura's mind that almost made her laugh-no matter where she went she would always have to fight. Be it her world or another. Her world...now that was a thought that hadn't crossed her mind for a few hours...

'Not the time' she thought quickly shaking her head

For now she would focus on healing these men.

"I'm going to try something." Sakura said placing her two fingers together and allowing chakra to flow from it.

She closed her eyes and focused as she drew her fingers over the one earth benders chest and then quickly jabbed him at certain points.

The earth bender gasped before sitting up; able to move now.

"What-

Sakura smirked "Thought so."

"What did you do?" asked Katara in awe

Holding up her fingers she began to explain "I coated my fingers in chakra to make direct contact with the points were the chi was being blocked"

Katara appeared to become more and more impressed with the pinkette.

"That's incredible; we really could've used you back in Omashu when we had to go up against her but how did you know where they were?"

She placed a hand on her villager's headband "I'm a medical ninja; I know the human body inside and out as well and also where I come from we have a clan that specialises in using this sort of technique for combat. A friend of mine who's part of that clan taught me some of the basic and easiest pressure points to hit even with the naked eye. It's really an amazing technique; they're able to take down their opponents from the inside."

It wasn't a lie. Sakura had been taught where the basic pressure points lie in the human body thanks to her friend Hinata; her medical ninjutsu also aided in that but not as much when it came to extreme detail that Sakura had spent months perfecting considering she didn't have the eyes for it like her friend.

"The inside huh?" Katara said "That's how Tylee takes out her opponents as well."

Sokka jumped "That's it!"

"What's it?" asked Aang

"Take down from the inside! That's what we'll do to take down the drill!"

"By hitting its pressure points!" Toph exclaimed catching up

Aang walked over to see the drill "We'll take it down from the inside."

* * *

Now they stood from the front lines; outside of the wall in the open plane of land; in front of the giant drill coming towards them. Sakura for a fact knew that even she couldn't destroy that thing with her super strength...THAT THING COULD DRILL THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS THAT SHE SMASHED.

And they were about to get even closer to it.

"Once I whip up some cover you're not going to be able to see very well so stick close to me." Toph instructed before she raised her arms and created a mist of dust that would keep them hidden from their enemies.

As the smoke cleared Toph created a hole in the ground and instructed everyone to go in. After they dived in she closed it up again.

"It's so dark down here; I can't see a thing." Everyone heard Sokka complain

"Oh no what a nightmare!" Toph mocked

"Sorry"

When they submerged from the earth they were directly under the drill now. Sokka directed them to an opening at the bottom and Aang jumped up; hanging by a pole he hoisted up Sokka and Katara and waited for Sakura and Toph to take his hands but they didn't.'  
"What are you doing?"

"I'm not going in that metal monster, I can't bend in there; I'll try to slow it down here." Toph said

"I'm going to help" Sakura said

"Okay good luck"

With that the team began their mission to stop the drill.

* * *

Toph bent two rocks on either side of the drill and told Sakura to go to the other one so that they could hold back the drill. Pushing chakra to her fists Sakura placed them on the rock and held her footing.

The drill began to slow down...

"I can't believe this; how strong are you?!" Toph asked surprised to see that the drill had actually slowed down quite a bit.

Sakura laughed humourlessly "Not strong enough to completely stop this thing sadly."

"We'll do our part while Aang, Sokka and Katara do theirs."

"Right."

* * *

Inside of the drill with Katara; Aang and Sokka were making their way through the large machine but it was just too big; it was like wondering around giant metal maize without a clue of where to go. Luckily Sokka was there with a plan.

He had taken his weapon and smashed a part of the piping which had begun spewing out steam. He explained to Aang and Katara that a machine this size would need engineers and that breaking something would get their attention.

He was right.

When the engineer came with the schematics of the drill, Katara had frozen him with the excess steam and then Sokka took the schematics.

"Nice thinking Sokka." Aang complimented

"I try." He said with a confident smile before he laid out the plans "It looks like the drill is made up of two main structures, there's the inner mechanism where we are now and the outer shell. The inner part and outer part are connected by these braces so if we cut through them the entire thing will collapse!"

Their plan was in motion. All they could do now was hope for no more complications.

* * *

'Come on don't give in!' Sakura told herself as she felt sweat dripping down her forehead. Her muscles were aching from the strain.

She wasn't sure how much longer they would be able to last before the drill reached the wall.

"How you doing over there Toph!" Sakura screamed

"Wishing Twinkle Toes would hurry up!" Toph screamed back as the drill continued to progress with a disdained expression.

"Looks like just one of me isn't going to cut it." said Sakura

"What are you up to?" asked Toph

Sakura smiled...

* * *

When the three friends reached their destination of the drill they were not expecting the braces to be so big and thick that it would take so much time and effort to cut through just one. They had wasted a full fifteen minutes already and were still cutting through the braces. Aang and Katara were panting as they passed the water blade two each other through the brace.

While Sokka watched in full spirits.

"Come on team don't quit now we're-

He stopped when Katara turned around have gave him a menacing expression

"I mean you're almost there!"

A few more dices and the brace was cut through; everyone watched with hopeful expressions but that quickly vanished when the brace slid slightly from its place but no further.

Katara sighed "At this rate we won't be able to do enough damage before the drill reaches the wall."

Aang sat on the ground "I don't know how many more of those I have in me."

"What's taking you guys so long? We can't keep this up for much longer!" a familiar voice yelled

Landing on the metal stands; Sakura appeared in front of the tree "Toph and I can't keep this up."

"Sakura what are you doing here? You're supposed to be helping Toph." Sokka said

Sakura rolled her eyes "I am."

Sokka pointed at her "Clearly you're not you're right here!"

"I'm actually a clone." 'Sakura' said pointing to herself "The original Sakura is still out there helping Toph; she wanted to know if you found a way to take down the drill yet."

"A CLONE." Sokka, Katara and Aang shouted

The Sakura clone winced "Yes; a clone. There's no time for explanations right now; the drills about to hit the wall so real Sakura sent me here to see if I could help."

Aang pointed to the brace they had just cut "We've got to destroy the braces so that the drill will collapse but it's too thick and it took us this much time just to cut through one!"

Clone Sakura appeared in thought before pulling her fist back "Stand back."

Running forward Sakura threw a punch at the brace which sent it shaking and them sliding off completely from its place...

"ALRIGHT" cheered Sokka

Sakura panted heavily; she looked just as tired as Aang and Katara

"Are you alright?" asked Aang

"I'm low on chakra; we both are." Sakura explained "I don't know if I'll be able to break through all of the braces."

"That's what we were thinking to." Katara said "It's too big."

"I can probably punch a couple of them in but-

"We don't know how long that'll take." Sokka finished

Just then the entire drill started shaking.

"Did you hear that?" Sokka asked "We took it down. We better get out of here fast."

They started to head toward the way they came until they heard someone speaking on the intercom

" _Congratulations crew; the drill has made contact with the wall of Ba Sing Se. Start the countdown to victory!"_

"Oh boy" Sakura muttered

* * *

Sakura panted as she held out the drill; the pressure was becoming too much and she wasn't sure how much longer this would last. The drill had just made contact with the wall even after she had Toph attempted to slow it down some more. She had done all she could to give them time but now it looked like they were in for the final countdown.

She had sent her clone in after Katara, Aang and Sokka so that they knew to hurry it up but they might not have figured out a way to destroy the drill yet.

'What now?'

* * *

"This is bad; really bad." Katara said

"We're putting everything we got into busting these braces but it's taking too long!"

At Sokka's statement a stroke of realisation hit Aang "Maybe we don't need to cut all the way through. Toph has been teaching me that you shouldn't give one hundred percent energy into any one strike. Sokka take a fighting stance."

Sokka did as told as Aang demonstrated his newly found idea "You've gotta be quick and accurate, hit a serious of points and break your opponents stance and when he's reeling back you deliver the final blow, his own weight becomes his down fall."

Aang hit Sokka with a few light blows to break his stance and then hit him lightly on the head that made him fall down; enough of a demonstration to get his point across.

The clone gasped and smiled "That's brilliant!"

"So we just need to weaken the braces instead of cutting all the way through" Katara said

"Then we'll go to the top and deliver the final blow." Aang pointed to the top of the drill

"And boom; it all comes crashing down." Sokka finished

Aang looked at them with a serious expression "Everyone inside that wall-the whole world is counting on us."

"The whole world minus the Fire Nation." Added Sokka

Sakura sighed softly in content, she knew that it was because she was missing her friends back home but she couldn't help the warm flutter in her chest as she watched everyone work together to help others. It was what she used to do with her friends back in her world-they'd put their lives on the line and always look out for one another working together never apart and now she was doing it here with these people she felt she could call her friends as well.

"What is it?" asked Katara

"Nothing...just a familiar feeling; I'll help you guys weaken the braces. I've still got a couple of punches in me."

Sakura; Aang and Katara proceeded to weaken the rest of the braces. Aang and Katara using water bending while Sakura used her chakra coated punches and kicks to dent and thin out the braces leaving them ready to just fall apart.

* * *

After a few more minutes they were almost finished with all of the braces. The Sakura clone ran over to Aang and Katara as they were cutting through the brace.

"I'm done on my end."

Sokka grinned and nodded "Good work team avatar now all we have to do is-DUCK"

A flash of blue flames barely missed Sokka alerting everyone else to find the cause of it; Sakura could feel its intense heat and shifted her eyes to where the blast had come from.

There on one of the upper braces they saw three girls-about their age looking at them. There was a girl with long dark Chinese styled hair and dark narrow eyes and pale skin; this girl's name was Mei. On the other side there was a girl clad in an outfit that made Sakura actually think it was way too much pink; she had light brown hair that was tied in a braid and light brown eyes; unknown to Sakura this was Tylee.

Then there was the girl in the middle who simply screamed power; she wore red and black armour like outfit; had dark hair and gold coloured eyes. This was the princess of the Fire Nation; Azula.

"Wow you were right Azula, it is the avatar" Tylee said looking down at them; she smiled when her sight landed on Sokka "And friends..."

Sokka looked baffled first before waving at her flirtatiously "Hey"

Sakura shook her head while Katara just grabbed her brother and dragged him out of the room so that they could make their escape.

"So I take it those are the girls you warned me about?" Sakura asked as she ran down the hall.

"Yeah; but since you're a clone are we gonna have to explain everything to the other Sakura?" asked Katara

"No; she'll have all this information when I disappear."

"HUH"

"Explanations can come after we escape!" exclaimed Sakura

When they came along crossroads in the drill Aang spoke "You guys get out of here; I know what I need to do."

"I'm coming with." Clone Sakura interrupted following Aang's path

"Wait" Katara called before pulling off the sac of water from her shoulder "You need this more than me."

They split up then knowing that the girls wouldn't be far behind.

"So we're going to destroy the drill?" Sakura asked

Aang nodded "Yeah; think you can keep up?"

The Sakura clone smirked widely "Think you can?"

For two people who were currently running for their lives; they were treating it like a game as they raced to see who would get out of the drill first.

Sakura gasped as she saw the back of the drill; there was a kind of muddy substance exiting it "What is that?"

the drill continued to move forward; she looked at Toph "I think we've done all we can."

"You're right" Toph said back removing the rocks "Besides Katara and Sokka are out of there now; they're at the back of the drill."

Sakura pulled a face when she saw all of the sludge coming out of the drill and wondered how exactly they got out of there.

* * *

Sakura clone, Aang and Momo had gotten to the top of the drill; it was a tie in the race. Now they had to focus on delivering the final blow to the drill.

"This looks like a good spot" Aang said as they reached near the part where the drill pushing through the wall.

Rocks began falling down from the earth benders above; the Sakura clone was quick to react and punched a couple out of Aang's way.

"I've got you covered" she said as she jumped into the air to get rid of another rock.

Aang started to use the water Katara had given him to slice through the metal.

* * *

Back on Katara and Sokka's end at the end of the drill; Katara and Sokka had escaped through the pipes but Tylee had followed them while Mei-who refused to touch the disgusting substance stayed behind. Katara had blocked up the exit for the sludge so that Tylee couldn't get them and so that pressure in the drill would build.

* * *

After a couple of minutes Aang was almost finished creating the point for the final blow while Sakura continued to deflect the blows of the rocks.

Aang stopped panting heavily; Momo still on his back "What I'd give to be a metal bender..."

Clone Sakura giggled before her eyes widened when she spotted something behind Aang. Azula had appeared on the drill coming towards Aang, she shot blue flames towards him. The clone Sakura jumped in front of him and took the blow; she then vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Sakura!" exclaimed Aang forgetting for a moment that she was only a clone of the real Sakura.

Azula stood in the distance with a smirk on her face.

"Momo, get out of here!" Aang ordered the lemur who quickly fled off his shoulder and into the air.

Aang took up a stance waiting for Azula to attack; feet apart; knees slightly bent at a 90 degree angle; arms up and ready to bend.

Azula swung her arms and blue flames were fired at Aang who ducked and countered with a back kick sending a gust of wind towards Azula but she also stepped out of the way before shooting at him again. While Aang used water whips to try and hit her; she simply countered.

This back and forth continued until rocks started falling towards them again forcing the two to duck and doge.

When the rain of rocks finally stopped the battle continued as Aang created a rock wall to shield himself and shoot rocks at Azula.

She however continued to effectively doge them and countered with her own attacks.

As Aang launched another rock at her; she jumped into the air and fire bended with her feet kicking out the flames sending it towards Aang; breaking down his rock shield. Aang hit the wall; falling unconscious.

Azula smirked as she headed towards the avatar to finish the job however something quick and sliver crossed the side of her; she felt a sharp pain on her cheek as the skin was torn and then the warm feeling of blood dripping down.

Turning around quickly; she saw a pink haired girl-obviously Sakura.

"Stay away from him." Sakura warned

Azula raised an eyebrow "Oh; haven't seen you around before. Think I would remember a girl with such an abomination for a hair colour."

Clenching her fists Sakura got into a fighting stance "If you want Aang you're going to have to get through me."

Raising her hand Azula fire bended aiming at Sakura but the pinkette could've expected that and being a medical ninja who always had to make sure that she never got injured herself so that she would be able to heal her teammates made her excel at defence.

Although her offence was strong too.

Sakura could feel the heat radiating from the flames as she stepped out of the way; she wouldn't want to get burned by those.

"You're rather quick on your feet." Azula commented slyly

This caused the pinkette to smirk "You haven't seen anything yet!"

Fire began coming towards her at intense speed but thanks to chakra coated legs; she was able to move faster. Sakura was starting to hypothesise that while benders have a natural gift of bending an element much easily to their will than a ninja who has to use hand signs; in comparison to a ninja they were physically weaker. As far as agility and strength went.

Plus a ninja would have a lot more tricks up their sleeves than one element.

Now it was time to test that theory.

Sakura did a few hand signs before running towards Azula-the Fire Nation princess having no clue behind the pinkette's hand signs continued to strike; punching fists of flames at her. Sakura continued to move pass the flames with easy. Having dealt with dodging and fighting over a hundred enemies at a time; this sort of thing came naturally to her after all her training.

"Take this!"

Azula brought her hands together and unleashed a large amount of flames at Sakura. The pinkette was hit by the flames making Azula's smile broaden however when it cleared Azula didn't find a body...only a log.

"Where-

"Right here!" Sakura yelled

Looking up Azula saw Sakura falling down from a great height; she threw a kunai at Azula but not directly; instead it landed right in front of her. Then she saw there was a piece of paper attached to it. The bomb wasn't very large but the explosion was enough to push Azula back several feet. Sakura landed down gracefully back on the drill before rushing over to Aang to help him. The drill had already broken through the wall and was continuing; if they didn't stop this now there would be no hope.

"Aang!" exclaimed Sakura rushing towards him; she grabbed the small boy and hoisted him up. Aang's eyes began to flutter open slowly.

Sakura smiled in relief but that didn't last long when Aang's eyes widened as he looked behind her; he quickly pushed Sakura out of the way as Azula fired at them and then earth bent rock onto his arm and got into a fighting stance.

However just as the two were about to continue their battle; the water and earth mixed sludge erupted from the front of the drill; with Toph and Katara now plugging up the back it was starting to overflow in the pipes.

As Azula ran towards them she slipped on the sludge and knocked into them; Sakura and Azula were sent flying on one side while Aang was on the other.

Quickly concentrating chakra to her feet Sakura stopped sliding while Azula had also somehow managed to stop herself from falling off the drill.

Sakura started to quickly run up to sides to go and help Aang only to find him already back on top thanks to Momo who had helped him.

They went to the mark that Aang had made on the drill "Now all we need is-

A rock fell on the drill near them

"For once that is what we need." Aang said as he moved the rock in front of him; he bent the rock to shape like a nail and placed it in the mark.

"You should probably deliver the final blow." Sakura said panting softly "I'm running low on chakra"

Plus she realised that instead of nailing the rock into the drill she might accidently smash the rock into tiny pieces.

Aang nodded before he created an air sphere under his body and started to travel to the top of the wall until it vanished; then coming down the wall by running he prepared to jump.

Azula had come back from the side of the drill and was getting ready to strike again but Sakura appeared in front of her quickly. Drawing back her fist Sakura threw a punch in the fire princesses gut and sent her flying back with immense power.

Sakura nearly went flying back herself when Aang landed on the rock. The braces of the drill all snapped under the pressure and the slurry exploded all around the drill covering everything...and everyone.

Wiping away the sludge as Momo landed on his shoulder licking it making Sakura cringe he smiled at her.

"You did it Aang!" Sakura praised

"No WE did it; all of us together as a team!" Aang said

'Team huh?' Sakura thought; it's been a while since she's heard something like that...

Sakura shivered as she looked down at her form covered in the disgusting gunk "Not sure it was worth it though."

They started laughing.

Today was Sakura's first battle with the Fire Nation and she was happy that she was able to help Aang and everyone else. Yet Sakura failed to realise the mistake she had made giving into her heart's desire.

It would bring about challenges that would push her to limits she's never reached before.

 **That's all for now but another chapter will be coming really soon (sooner than you might think)**

 **Don't forget to review!**


	4. Walls and secrets

**Hey readers, I'm so happy for getting all those lovely reviews that I had to update.**

* * *

"Ah; this is more like it." Sakura said happily as she rested her arms behind her head.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Toph asked curiously

Sakura smiled "I'm just glad that we finally get a little break; since I've come to this world it's just been one conundrum after another."

That was no joke.

Ever since Sakura had dropped into this world all it's been doing was throwing obstacles in her path; from escaping a desert; fighting off killer buzzard bees; crossing a deadly pass to make it to a city just to discover that it was under attack then having to save it by destroying a giant drill and defeating an evil Fire Nation princess and her friends; it was no wonder she was tired. And this was all just to get to the city; they hadn't even gotten to their main objectives yet which was to find the earth king and inform him of the information they had discovered about the Fire nation AND finding Aang's bison Aapa on top of that Sakura's objective also included finding a way back home.

She was extremely happy when she found that their trip to Ba Sing Se's inner wall wouldn't be the same as the outer wall-thank goodness for that. Sakura couldn't help but feel both sympathy and admiration for the avatar group that she had joined; if they've been enduring this for so long they were definitely strong.

She couldn't help but want to aid in the group's efforts; with everything happening she's hardly had time to think about finding a way to return home. It did cross her mind but that could happen after she helped them. She was certain that with a group like this anything could happen.

They were all currently in a train that was being pushed on tracks by earth benders and they were getting closer to the inner wall.

"I can't believe after we finally made it to Ba Sing Se in one piece" Katara said in relief

Sokka jumped "Don't jinx it; we could still be attacked by some giant exploding Fire nation spoon or discover that the cities been submerged in an ocean of killer shrimp."

Sakura gave Sokka a concerned look and went to check his forehead "You don't have a fever..."

He swatted her hand away "I'm fine."

"You sure? Crazy doesn't usually show up on ex-rays but I do know the symptoms." Sakura said crossing her arms over her chest holding a cheeky smile.

"I think he's been hitting the cactus juice again." Toph said as she petted Momo in her lap

"I'm just saying weird things happen to us." Sokka told them

As if the universe was trying to emphasis a point; a large guy with an entire corn stuffed in his mouth walked to them and forced himself between Sokka and Toph.

Sakura stared out of the window to look at the land between the inner and outer walls; it was free space filled with grass and vegetation; completely breathtaking and beautiful.

Aang however had too many things on his mind to consider it.

"Don't worry Aang." Katara reassured "We'll find Aapa"

"It's such a big city..."

"He's a giant flying bison how hard can he be to find?" asked Sokka

Just then; they crossed the line into the inner wall.

Sakura's jaw slackened and her eyes widened; she saw the city and it was huge! The tracks ran all along at the top of the city; you could see buildings stretch almost endless until it reached ANOTHER wall where more building; homes and industry continued.

She looked at Sokka with a dull look "What were you saying about jinxing again?"

Sokka's head dropped.

* * *

When the train stopped and everyone got off they stared at into the distance; Toph sighed.

"Back in the city..."

"What's the problem? It's amazing!"

"Just a bunch of walls and rules," Toph pouted "Trust me; you'll get sick of it in a couple of days."

"I take it you don't have a good history with walls?" Sakura asked sceptically

"Big time"

Aang stared out and blew on his bison whistle "We're coming from you buddy."

"This is gonna take longer than we thought." Sakura muttered frowning.

Her finding a way home was defiantly going to have to wait for a while; looking at Katara who was comforting Aang; Sakura smiled.

'I can wait a little...'

Sakura turned around when she felt like she was being watched and saw a women standing on the other end of the tracks; she had dark hair with some kind of big hair piece on; wearing a light cream coloured-greenish dress. What Sakura noticed though was her wide stretched smile that looked very painful.

The women walked over to them "Hello; my name is Joo Dee; I have been given the great honour of showing the avatar around Ba Sing Se."

She looked at the rest of the group "And you must be Sokka; Katara; Toph and Sakura; welcome to our wonderful city; shall we get started?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow; she had only joined the group very recently so she didn't know how this women could possibly know her name-unless she had been informed by someone after the drill incident.

'But that would mean...'

"Yes" Sokka said "We have information about the Fire Nation army that we need to deliver to the earth king immediately."

"Great; let's begin our tour and then I'll show you to your new home." said Joo Dee with the same tight smile as she walked away from the group expecting them to follow.

Sokka let out a frustrated cry and followed after her "Maybe you didn't hear what I said; we need to talk to the king about the war. It's important."

"You're in Ba Sing Se now; everyone is safe here." Joo Dee said

Sakura couldn't help but think there was seriously something wrong with this women but she decided to keep that to herself for now.

* * *

The group was put in a carriage and toured around Ba Sing Se; they began from a place Sakura couldn't help but note seemed like a rather run down area of the city. Joo Dee explained to them that it was the lower ring.

"What's that wall for?" asked Katara

"Oh Ba Sing Se has many walls; there's the ones on the outside protecting us and the ones on the inside that maintain order. This is where our newest arrivals live as well as our craftsmen and artisans people that work with their hands. It's so quaint and lively."

They looked outside to observe two men at the entrance of an alley way-one with a giant sword.

"You do want to watch your step though." Joo Dee warned them with a wary expression.

"Why do they have all these poor people blocked off in one part of the city?" asked Katara

"This is why I never came here; I was always told it was different from the way the monks taught us to live." Aang said

Sakura nodded "I can see why."

* * *

Their tour continued on the other side of the wall; the buildings here weren't as crowded together or run down. It looked more modern.

"This is the middle ring of Ba Sing Se; home to the financial district; shops and restaurants and the university."

Sokka looked at Joo Dee "Yeah we met a professor from the university he took us to an ancient underground library where we discovered information about the war that is ABSOLUTELY crucial for the king to hear!"

Joo Dee continued to smile and looked outside "Isn't history fascinating; look here's one of the oldest buildings in the middle ring Town Hall."

Sakura hit her head against the window of the carriage as Joo Dee exited.

"Is that women deaf? She only seems to hear every other word I say?" Sokka said

"It's called being handled get use to it." Toph sighed

"I don't think there's any point in trying to get this women to listen to us." Sakura said with her arms crossed.

"We have to; it's the only way we'll get to see the earth king." said Katara

"Good luck then." Sakura said shaking her head "It'd be easier to break into the palace."

* * *

After that they were taken to the upper ring-having seen the last two rings Sakura had guessed that this was for the most important people of the city-those who were very wealthy. She turned out right when Joo Dee explained that to them.

Then the carriage crossed a huge court yard where they saw yet another wall but it was different than the others; painted and decorated with a rich taste.

"What's inside that wall?" asked Sakura

Everyone looked out where they saw a couple of men in uniforms standing there.

"And who are the mean looking guys in robes?" asked Sokka

"Inside is the royal palace, those men are agent of the Dai Li. The cultural authority of Ba Sing Se; they are the guardians of all our traditions."

Aang leaned on his hand "Can we see the king now?"

"Oh no; one doesn't just pop in on the earth king" said Joo Dee

Sakura clicked her tongue in annoyance; she would've loved to get into that palace right now just to spite that women and wipe that smile off her face but she didn't want to cause any trouble for the rest of the group.

* * *

After the tour Joo Dee lead them to their new home in the upper ring; while they were admiring the outside a man came running up to Joo Dee and bowed giving her a scroll.

"More good news; your request to see the earth king is being process and should be put through in about a month."

Everyone looked at her in shock "A MONTH?"

"Six to eight weeks actually." Joo Dee corrected

"Oh that makes it so much better" Sakura replied sarcastically

They went into the house; it had a fare amount of space for them. Sakura went to go and sit on one of the pillows with Toph and Katara.  
"Isn't it nice?" asked Joo Dee "I think you'll really like it here."

"We'd like it a lot better if we weren't staying here so long." Sokka commented "Can't we see the king any sooner?"

"The earth king is very busy running the finest city in the world but he will see you as soon as time permits"

"If we're going to be here for a month we should spend that time looking for Aapa" Aang said looking out the window.

Joo Dee bowed "I'd be happy to escort you anywhere you'd like to go."

"We don't need a baby sitter." Toph said

"I second that notion" Sakura said raising her hand

Toph and Sakura stood up heading for the door

"Oh I won't get in the way" Joo Dee said blocking their path "And to leave you alone would make me a bad host. Where shall we start?"

* * *

Realising that they weren't going to be able to get rid of their host; the gang decided to save their energy and start looking for Aapa. They began with the most obvious places to buy animals-pet stores.

"I'm sorry but I haven't heard anything about a stolen bison; I didn't even know there were any." the store owner said

"If someone wanted to sell a stolen animal without them knowing where would they go?" asked Aang

Sokka stepped forward "Where's the black market? Come on you know!"

The man looked nervous as he glanced at Joo Dee who shook her head behind the groups back as if giving a silent warning.

"That would be illegal." he then looked over to the side of the store "You have to go now your lemur is harassing my parakeets'

Sakura went and grabbed Momo who was eating the bird's food and pulled him out of the store by his tail.

Their next stop was to Ba Sing Se University where they went up to the students to ask the questions with the same disappointing results.

"I've never seen any sand benders or nomads around here; you should ask professor Zei; he teaches the class on desert cultures."

"Right" trailed Sokka "And which of your professors can we ask about the war with the fire nation?"

The student started to become nervous "I...I don't know I'm not a political science student-I have to get to class."

The student stumbled over his feet and dropped his scrolls.

Sakura narrowed her eyes and glanced back at Joo Dee who waved him off.

'Why do I get the feeling something's defiantly wrong?'

When they returned back home all of them were down; not only did they fail to find Aapa but they weren't able to see the king either to give him the information about the Fire Nation AND Joo Dee had followed after them. Sakura had the feeling that she wasn't trying to host them so much as keep an eye on them but for what reason was the troubling part of all of this.

Sakura then looked ahead of her and saw someone peering from his door at them; Sokka noticed as well.

"Did you see?"

"Yeah" Sokka said before turning to the rest of the group "Guys come with me."

They went over to the other house and knocked on the door; a man came and opened it.

"You're the avatar!" he exclaimed looking at Aang "I heard you were in town; I'm Pao."

"Nice to meet you Pao." Replied Aang

"So Pao what's going on with this city?" asked Sokka "Why's everyone so scared to talk about the war?"

Pao looked around nervously again as if they were being watched but Sakura couldn't sense any presence that wasn't visible.

"War? Scared? What do you mean?"

"I can feel you shaking." Toph stated

Pao started looking around again and whispered "Look I'm just a minor government official; I've waited three years to get this house. I don't want to get into trouble."

"In trouble with who exactly?" asked Sakura

Pao shushed them "Listen you can't mention the war here and whatever you do stay away from the Dai Li!"

With that he closed the door leaving the group with many more questions.

"Now what?" asked Katara shifting her eyes from one person to the next.

"I don't know" Aang said

* * *

Sakura lied awake in bed; her mind drifting over the events of today. She stared out of the window; her new room was pretty empty besides the furniture. It made her feel home sick.

Everything in this world was so different than hers-from the people to the animals to the cities...she didn't belong here. Yet here she was. She wondered what everyone back in Konoha were doing; would her friends be looking for her by now when Tsunade realised she had missed her deadline to return home from her mission?

Her friends...

A certain blonde haired blue eyed boy popped into her head and she shut her eyes tightly; feeling the painful contraction in her chest.

'Naruto...'

How would he feel when he discovered she was gone? Would he be worried; angry...hurt?

Hurt that she was no longer there?

Hurt that she didn't come back?

Hurt that he was alone?

Sakura shook her head "No...I will find a way back."

That's right; she would get home no matter what. She'd figure out a way to get home.

While she may not have been prepared to get dragged into another world; she was grateful that she was not without help. Those four people who have quickly become her friends; Sokka; Katara; Aang and Toph.

And of course Momo.

She wasn't in this alone; they could've left her in the desert but instead they brought her into their group. It all happened so fast yet she felt like she was falling into place with them easily enough.

Sakura closed her eyes; tomorrow was a new day and she was going to do her best.

'Never give up'

* * *

Morning couldn't have arrived sooner; when Sakura woke up she almost forgot about where she was. She had just finished getting dressed for the day went to go and eat breakfast with her friends when Katara came running inside in excitement.

"I know how we're going to see the earth king!" she said

"How can we do that? One doesn't just pop in on the earth king!" Toph said mocking Joo Dee

Sakura giggled "She's right though; how are we going to do that?"

Katara held up the mail "The king is having a party tonight for his pet bear."

"You mean platypus bear?" Aang asked

"No" Katara said looking at the papers to double check "It just says bear."

"Certainly you mean his pet skunk bear?" asked Sokka

"Or his armadillo bear" added Toph

"Gopher bear?"

"It just says bear..." trailed Katara

Sakura looked back and forth between the four "There are animals combined with other animals in this world?"

"That's right" Toph said

"Back on topic; the palace will be packed so we can sneak in with the crowd."

Toph lied down on the pillows; arms behind her back "Won't work."

"Why not?" asked Katara

"Well no offense to you simple country folk but a real society crowd would spot you a mile away; you've got no manners."

Katara raised an eyebrow at the blind earth bender "Excuse me? I've got no matters? You're not exactly lady fancy fingers."

"I learned proper society behaviour and chose to leave it." Toph stated "You never learned anything and frankly it's a little too late for that."

Sokka jumped up "But you learned it; you could teach us."

Aang nodded in agreement "Yeah; I'm mastering all four elements how hard could manners be?"

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest "Harder than you think. Take it from someone who's had to put on disguises and impersonate high society members for missions. It's a pain."

"I'm sure we can do it." Aang said grabbing one of the curtains and pulling it over himself like a robe; he bowed to them "Good evening Mr Sokka water tribe; Miss Katara water tribe; lord Momo of the Mono dynasty; Sakura of the other world."

Sokka grabbed the other curtain and started to copy Aang as they bowed their heads.

"You should stop that before you-

BONK

Too late; Sakura sighed as Sokka and Aang lied on the ground having bumped their heads together.

Toph stood up from her seat "Katara and Sakura might be able to pull it off but you two will be lucky to pass as bus boys."

"But I feel so fancy" whined Sokka

In the end it was the females of the group that would be sneaking into the party to find the earth king.

* * *

They got some fancy dresses; simple designs and long flowing. Katara wore a light greenish dress with clouds painted on; Toph wore a creamed coloured dress and Sakura wore a long white dress with green lacing similar to Katara's.

"Can someone braid my hair?"

"I'll do it" Katara said coming over to Toph

Sakura sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror "This isn't going to work."

"What are you talking about? You look great."

Grasping a strand of her hair she sighed "I can't go looking like this."

Sakura made a couple of hand signs that made her hair change from pink to black. "That's better!"

"Oh..." Katara said in understanding; Sakura would be the only girl with pink hair and would stick out quite a bit.

Sakura did her short hair up in a bun and added a flower hair pin into the side.

"That's that."

"What you do?" asked Toph

"She changed her hair colour." Katara explained

"Oh year..." trailed Toph "I always forget she's got a weird hair colour."

Sakura pointed "Hey! It's not my fault I have strange genetics."

"You sure they aren't mutated?" asked Toph which made Katara give a slightly hard tug on her hair

Sakura laughed "I've thought about that."

They came out to show Sokka and Aang; the girls had their fans in hands and giggled.

"Wow you look beautiful." Aang said with a slight blush

Sakura looked at Katara who was about to say something when Toph smacked a fan over her mouth "Don't talk to the commoners' first rule of society."

The girls started making their way out telling Aang and Sokka that they would let them in through the side gate.

And now the plan was in motion.

* * *

The palace was packing; so many of high society gathering. As the girls got to the front of the line Toph showed the guard her Beifong document as she did before when he asked for the invitations. Things went downhill when the guard refused to let them in and the three had to step out of line.

"What now?" Sakura asked

Katara spotted someone coming in a white carriage on the side; judging by the way the guards bowed to him; he was clearly someone important. The man was middle aged with long dark haired tied back in a braid and a goatee; he appeared very strict-laced with his fine black and green robe.

"I have an idea; follow my lead." Katara said as they walked up to the man.

"I'm sorry to bother you but our cousin lost our invitations...she's blind. Do you think you could help us? Our families in there and they're probably very worried."

The man glanced at them before smiling and nodding "I'm honoured; please come with me."

The very guard that refused to let them in bowed as the man passed them and let them in.

* * *

When they entered the palace and took in the amazing interior; there was a large table set up in the middle with all kinds of foods Sakura has never seen or tasted before. At the end of the table was an actual bear eating.

'Rich people...' she thought shaking her head, she never understood what it was with high society having over sized pets you couldn't actually tame or play with unless you wanted to risk losing an arm.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" the man asked gesturing to the palace "By the way I'm Long Feng; I'm a cultural minister of the king."

"I'm Quwamei and this is Doph and Zakura"

Sakura and Toph yanked Katara down by her head piece of giving them the stupid nick names.

"Where is your family; I'd like to meet them."

The girls tensed up instantly, getting in was apparently going to be the easy part of this mission.

"We don't see them right now but I'm sure we'll find them." Sakura said

Katara nodded "That's right; thank you very much for your help."

The girls attempted to leave but Long Feng stepped in front of them "Don't worry; as your escort it would be dishonourable to abandoned you ladies without finding your family first; we'll keep looking."

'Crap' Sakura cursed under breath glancing nervously between Katara and Toph who both appeared stumped with what to do next.

* * *

A couple of minutes later and Long Feng had still continued to follow them; not only had they failed to ditch him but they needed to let Aang and Sokka in as well.

Sakura whispered to Toph and Katara "Think we can make a run for it?"

"I doubt it; if he catches us sneaking away he might become suspicious." Katara whispered back

"And we have to still let in Aang and Sokka."

Toph grabbed the two girls by their robes "We won't have to worry about that."

She pointed to the side and the girls gasped when they saw Aang and Sokka standing there with a jug and tray in their hands.

"They actually went as bus boys." Sakura muttered

"They got in." Toph said as they walked towards them until she was beside them

"Another crab puff please."

Aang turned to Toph "You found us!"

"I'd recognise your footsteps anywhere twinkle toes" she said before taking a crab puff from Sokka

Sakura and Katara also joined them.

"Thanks for letting us in." Sokka said sarcastically

"Sorry but the guy who let us in won't let us out of his sight." Said Katara

Sokka looked behind them "I don't see any guy."

Sakura started looking around but she couldn't see Long Feng anywhere but she did see someone else coming their way.

"Oh boy..." Sakura said pointing "Look who's joined the party."

Joo Dee came rushing to them "What are you doing here? You have to leave or we'll all be in big trouble!"

Sokka frowned "Not until we see the earth king"

"You don't understand; you must go."

Joo Dee tried pushing Sokka who ended up bumping into Aang who spilt the entire jug of juice he was carrying onto one of the guests.

"Sorry-no don't shout" Aang said before he air bended the water out of the woman's clothing. That evidently revealed himself to the entire party who was now starring.

"So much for blending in," Sakura said "What should we do now that we've got everyone's attention?"

Sokka gasped as if a brilliant idea struck him; he went over to Aang "You keep their attention while we look for the king."

Aang did just that; he put on a show with his bending for everyone while the others went in search for the king.

Sakura had actually also become interested in watching the show when Aang took the different liquids from the cups and created a sphere of colours with water bending.

Until Toph pinched her butt hard making her jump in pain and snap out of her trance.

"Shouldn't we be looking for the king?"

Sakura stopped "A thought just occurred to me; wouldn't the king be heavily guarded? And stand out from the rest of the crowd."

"Heavily guarded?" asked Katara

"That's usually the case with the lords back in my world; even at special events they are never unguarded."

"You mean like that?" Sokka pointed

Everyone turned and saw several dozen guards walk in and then other guards carrying someone in.

"Yes." Sakura said nodding "Exactly like that."

Sokka went to go tell Aang who tried heading to him but then the guards picked up the earth king and carried him out while some others stayed behind.

"He's leaving!" Sakura said rushing forward however her movements; hands of rock grabbed her and pulled her back along with Sokka; Katara and Toph.

'As if things couldn't get any worse.'

Long Feng appeared in front of Aang "Avatar it is a great honour to meet you; I am Long Fang-Grand secretary of Ba Sing Se and head of the Dai Li. I'd like to talk to you; your friend will be waiting for us in the library."

* * *

The group was brought into a dark library; the only light source in the room was the fire behind Long Feng who was sitting in front of them. When all of them were gathered together Sokka went straight to the questioning "Why won't you let us talk to the king? We have information that could help defeat the Fire Nation."

"The earth king has no time to get involved with political squabbles and the day to day minusher of day to day activities."

Sakura narrowed her eyes

"This could be the most important thing he's ever heard." Aang attempted to convince Long Feng.

"What's important to his royal majesty is maintaining the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se; all his duties relate to issuing decrees on such matters."

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Long Feng "And let me guess; politics and military resources are in your control?"

"It is my duty to oversee the rest of the cities resources," Long Feng corrected

"So the king is just a figure head" Katara said

"He's your puppet!" exclaimed Toph

Long Feng held up his hands feigning innocence "Oh no; no! His majesty is an icon; a god to his people; he can't sully his hands with the hourly changes of an endless war."

"So the king doesn't know about the war at all!" Sakura exclaimed with a frown

"As I said it is not his duty to oversee such matters"

"But we found out about a solar eclipse that will leave the Fire Nation helpless! You could lead an invasion-

"Enough!" Long Feng said standing up "I don't want to hear your ridiculous plan. It is the strict policy of Ba Sing Se that the war not be mentioned within the walls. Constant news of an escalating war would throw the citizens of Ba Sing Se into a state of panic. Our economy would be ruined; our peaceful way of life; our traditions would disappear. In silencing talk of conflict Ba Sing Se remains a peaceful; orderly utopia; the last one on earth."

By now everyone had a horrified look on their faces.

"You can't keep the truth from all these people; they have to know." Katara said

"I'll tell them" Aang warned "I'll make sure everyone knows."

"Until now; you have been treated as our honoured guest but from now on you will be watched every moment by Dai Li agents; if you mention the war you will be expelled from the city. I understand you have been looking for your bison; it would be a shame if you were not able to complete your quest."

Everyone gave Long Feng deadly look at the threat.

"Now Joo Dee will show you home."

The door opened and a woman came walking in but it was not Joo Dee.

"What happened to Joo Dee?" asked Katara

"I'm Joo Dee; I'll be your host as long as you are in our wonderful city." The women said with the same wide smile as the previous Joo Dee.

'Things sure are spiralling fast.' Sakura thought

 **Don't forget to review please!**


	5. Tales of Ba Sing Sei

**Here we go lovely readers**

* * *

Sakura lied awake; it had been three days since they had invaded the earth king's party and got caught by Long Fang. They were at a loss concerning what to do next. Dai Li agents would now be spying on them-Sakura could tell when there was a presence watching her and her abilities would allow her to evade them easily but the rest of the group not so much.

Sakura's eyes narrowed- she was going to help find Aapa; she was going to help Aang inform the earth king about the war and she was going to find a way home.

'I'm not sure how long I'm going to be here so I should probably...'

 **People that are connected by fate will never be able to escape each other**

* * *

"A job?" Sokka asked starring at her in disbelief "You want to get a job?"

Sakura nodded calmly as she sipped on her tea.

"Seriously; why would you want to do that?" Toph asked "Nothing but rules to follow and you've gotta do whatever your boss says! Who wants that?"

Laughing half heartedly Sakura rubbed the back of her head "I figured if I'm going to be staying for a while I shouldn't be penniless; I can't expect you guys to pay for me all the time and I did come to this world with only a couple of mission supplies-mostly weapons and food pills."

"Alright but where are you going to get a job?" asked Katara

Sakura smiled "I have that covered."

* * *

Sakura stared at the old run down building; the sign on top of it read 'Medical Clinic'; it was rather small for a medical centre but then again she was in the lower ring. From the looks of this place to the people; it pulled at her heart strings. That and she was certain that this would be a good place to investigate any illegal dealings; and blending in would make things easier.

When Sakura walked into the building she saw just how small the facility was; there were a few beds set up right there as you walked in and then at the back at there was a room as well as an area where a couple of people were sitting. The place was packed.

Sakura saw a women about in her mid twenties sweeping up.

"Excuse me; I was wondering who I could talk to about getting a jog here?"

"That would be me." Another voice interrupted; Sakura saw another women; in her forties or so wearing a green robe like dress that she had gotten use to seeing after barely being in Ba Sing se for more than a few days.

"I am Hina; I'm in charge of this medical centre." She said

Sakura bowed her head as she has seen people do as a form of greeting in this world "My names Sakura and I'd like a job here."

"Getting a job isn't a problem if you qualify"

"Well-

Before Sakura could say anymore; someone came rushing; two people carrying in a young man.

"Help! We need help!"

Hina rushed forward "What's the problem?"

"W-We don't know; Yang just said he was getting chest pains and having trouble breathing and now-Oh!"

"Set him down on the bed!"

Sakura rushed over and lifted the full grown man herself and set him down; she removed the top of his robe "He's larynx has shifted to the side; it's a tension nemo-thorax."

"Are you certain?" asked Hina frowning "You've barely looked at him"

Sakura nodded certainly "He's lungs collapsed; his hearts being pushed against his chest."

"What do you we do!?" the man that carried him in asked

Sakura looked around but this medical centre didn't seem to have the proper equiptment she needed to extract the fluid in the man's chest so that he could breath.

"We don't have the proper tools for treatment here!" Hina exclaimed

"Don't worry" Sakura said "Someone grab a bucket of water and fill it!"

The girl that was sweeping went to do that immediately.

Sakura turned to Hina "Are there any herbs here?"

"Yes; in the back room there are a few."

Sakura rushed to the back door and grabbed a few herbs quickly before returning to the man. The girl had brought the bucket of water and Sakura quickly took the herbs and started rubbing them together in her hands extracting its fluids and allowing it to fall into the water as quickly as possible. Sakura then used her chakra coated hand to reach into the bucket and pull out the water; it raised up and Sakura placed it over the man's chest. The fluid began to pour into the man's chest.

"What are you doing?!" asked Hina

"Gathering the fluid and fixing his lung." She said

After a few minutes Sakura withdrew her hand and the liquid appeared very different than before; almost a greenish colour was drifting in it. Sakura placed it back into the bucket.

"This is usually a method I use for extracting poison but I figure it would work the same."

The man was able to breathe normally again.

"Thank you"

Sakura sighed "He'll be alright now."

As she went to the back to dispose of the fluid Hina came up to her "That was quite impressive."

Sakura rubbed the back of her head "Well-

"That technique; are you by any chance a water bender?"

She shook her head "No; I'm not-I just have a skill for healing."

"Well whatever that was it was splendid; we could use someone like you around here." Hina said she pointed to the girl "My daughter Yuki and I are the only ones who work here. We don't have a lot of medical supplies to treat people and you can imagine how many sick people there are here but there's usually nothing we can do; since the Dai Li refuse to give us any money or supply enough medicine to us."

Sakura placed a hand on her chest "I know how to make some medicines as well"

"Then you got the job."

Sakura grinned "HELL YEAH"

Quickly she covered her mouth with her hands "Sorry..."

* * *

Sakura's entire week followed with her going every morning to the lower ring for her job; it didn't pay much but Sakura didn't care. She helped all of the sick people there with her medical jutsu and even though it took up a bit of energy for Sakura it was worth it. She would be able to utilise her skills and continue to search the city without arousing the suspicion of the Dai Li that would now be watching their every move.

'But what if there was more than one of me?' she thought

What she planned to do was send a shadow clone in disguise to go looking for answers while she worked at the clinic.

'Let the search begin...'

Sakura; Katara; Aang and Sokka were in the wash room together getting ready for the day. Aang was shaving his head; Sokka shaved what little stubble had appeared on his face and Katara and Sakura were fixing their hair-well Katara was fixing her hair while Sakura as cutting it with a kunai; it had grown a little too long for a liking. Sakura wasn't sure when she came to the point where she was so comfortable around them that she was able to share the restroom facilities with them-even if it was only doing things like washing your face.

Katara looked at Sakura's hair "You know I was wondering about your hair..."

"It's pink we established that can we please let it go?" Sakura begged

Katara held her hands up "It's not that! I was just wondering if it was customary for female ninjas to keep their hair short."

Sakura glanced at Katara before shaking her head "It's not; actually most of the girl's hair is long; I just keep my hair short because..."

Her fists tightened and her heart gave a painful clench 'He was supposed to like long hair...'

"It got in the way a lot on missions." Sakura said "Like when there were these exams for ninja; one of the other competitors grabbed me by my hair."

"How'd you escape?" asked Sokka; by now they were all listening to her story.

"Well I was in the forest-my two teammates were injured from a fight and were unconscious so I had to watch over them; I was attacked then by another team. One of them grabbed me by my hair-that was all it took to immobilise me. The others were going to kill my teammates so I took the kunai"

She lifted up her kunai knife "And cut off my hair; then I fought."

"Wow that's amazing!" Aang said "You're so brave."

Sakura's smile faltered 'If only they knew the rest of the story.'

How she had failed to protect her friends; how another team had jumped in and saved them; how one of her teammates had been injured because she couldn't fight to protect him. No she wasn't brave. She didn't believe she deserved such praise.

"Is Toph still sleeping?" Sakura asked as she completed the final touches.

"Yup" said Sokka as he checked himself out in the mirror. "Let her sleep; trust me the last time I tried waking her up she earth bent me in a cage"

"Yikes..."

"I'll get her." Katara said walking out

"That might be the last we ever see of her..." Sokka murmured

"So what are you guys going to do today?" Sakura asked

"I'm gonna go check out some of the shops to see if they have any weapons." Sokka replied

Aang looked at her solemly "I'm going to search for Aapa some more."

Sakura placed her hand on Aang's shoulder "Don't worry Aang; I know we'll find him."

"Say; what about your job?" asked Sokka

"I'm working night shift tonight so I only have to come in later." Sakura said

Katara suddenly came rushing into the room "Hey Sakura you don't have work until later right?"

"Yes."

"Well then come on; you; mean and Toph are heading into town right now."

"Why?" Sakura asked

"Because we're having a girl's day out!" she announced

"Huh?"

* * *

Sakura stared at the large building in front of them that read the Fancy Lady day spa. In all honestly Sakura was actually quite giddy to be going to a spa; she couldn't remember the last time she went to one. Toph on the other hand was not so enthusiastic.

"The Fancy lady day spa? Sounds like my kind of place." She said sarcastically

"Are you girls ready for some serious pampering?" Katara asked

Sakura raised her hand up enthusiastically "Hell yeah!"

"As long as they don't touch my feet!" exclaimed Toph

* * *

Oh those women did so much more than just touch Toph's feet; they were scrubbing so hard trying to remove all of the dirt that was on her feet from walking around barefoot that Toph lost patience and sent them flying through the wall with her earthbending. Sakura was worried that it might be like that all day-and she was usually the one to send people through walls.

When they came to the mud baths luckily there was no reason for Toph to send anyone through walls and the girls enjoyed a relaxing bath and mud masks. Toph did however scare one of the workers there by earthbending the mud mask on her face. That one was just too funny for them not to laugh.

Then they were all relaxing together in the sauna-in which case waterbending and earthbending were perfect for creating steam.

After that they had a full make over session; where their faces were painted in 'casual' makeup. It didn't seem very casual to Sakura since she wasn't really one to wear any makeup. They left the spa and were now walking back home.

* * *

"Well that wasn't too bad; I'm not usually into that stuff but I actually feel girly."

Sakura smiled "I hear you; I don't ever remember having this much fun in a while."

"I'm glad; it's about time we did something fun together." Katara said

The girls walked across the bridge where they passed three girls.

"Wow great makeup" one of them said to Toph

"Thanks." Toph replied

"For a clown!" the girl laughed and so did her two friends

Sakura clenched her fists angrily; Katara put her arm around Toph "Don't listen to them; let's just keep walking."

"I think she looks cute" the other girl said "Like the time we put a sweater on your pet poodle monkey."

"Though it was such a horrid colour" the other girl added

"Wasn't it pink?" the other girl asked laughing

"No come on that was mean." the girl said mockingly looking at Sakura "Her hair's not the problem; it's her giant forehead."

They started laughing again

"Let's go guys" Katara said frowning

Sakura started laughing hysterically "That was so funny! But not as funny as this!"

Taking out three kunai knives Sakura flung it at the girls which cut off the hair pieces on their heads as well as their hair; chopping it in an uneven manner.

Toph joined in laughing as the girls cried out about their hair "You're right; that was a good one; you know what else is a good one?"

Toph earth bended the ground under the girls and sent them into the stream bellow; Katara looked down at them and smiled "Now that's funny."

Then she water bended them away far down the stream.

Sakura; Toph and Katara started walking away.

"Don't listen to those girls Toph." Sakura said "No matter where you go there will always be bitches."

"Yeah they don't know what they're talking about." Katara reassured "Of course I wouldn't have used the B word..."

"It's okay." Toph said "One of the good things about being blind is that I don't have to waste my time worrying about my appearance. I don't care what I look like...I'm not looking for anyone's approval. I know who I am."

A tear slipped past her eyes.

Sakura placed a hand on Toph's shoulder "I admire that about you Toph. You're so self assured"

"Exactly" Katara said "You're so strong and confident."

"I'm actually jealous of that." Sakura admitted

"What you're jealous?" asked Toph in disbelief

"Yes. It took me a really long time before I finally accepted myself the way I was. My hair; my forehead-it took someone else to help me change and come out of my shell. She set an example for me that gave me a goal to strive for-she told me something that changed something in me."

"Who did that?" asked Katara

"Her name was Ino Yamanaka; she and I were worlds apart when we met no pun intended. She helped me come out of my shell. One day we were doing this assignment together on flower gathering and..." Sakura felt tears prick her eyes "She told me about the different flowers that complemented each other; like a Cosmose flower and a Therowarp. I asked her if she was a Cosmose then was I just a Therowarp? A compliment to her?"

"What did she say?" asked Toph

"That she didn't think I was a flower at all; but a bud waiting to bloom." Sakura smiled widely "She told me that she helped me because she didn't want to see me wither away as a bud. Her exact words...were: 'For all we know that little bud it might become a flower even more beautiful than a cosmose.'"

"It sounds like you really admired her." Katara stated

Sakura nodded as she wiped away her tears and then looked to Toph "You're the way you are without anyone's help because you weren't afraid to be who you are. That's a trait that's hard to find."

Toph wiped her tears away.

"And I know it doesn't matter Toph but you're really pretty." Katara said truthfully

Toph smiled "I am?"

"Yes you are." Sakura said

The girls started walking together again; closer than they were before the day began.

"I'd return the compliment but I have no idea what you guys look like."

They laughed together.

"Thank you...Sakura and Katara."

Then she punched the girls on the arm at the same time as a sign of affection.

* * *

"Why are we going to the zoo again?" asked Aang as Sakura pulled him along the streets.

"Because that's one of the obvious places we haven't tried looking for Aapa yet." Sakura stated

Aang shot up "That's right! We should've thought about that sooner."

"Yeah we should've but we didn't." Sakura sighed as Aang started to rush towards the entrance of the zoo; pulling Sakura this time with him. When they entered it was not all what they were expecting. There were enclosures that were closely cramped together and cages hanging above those enclosures; it lacked the habitat settings that were usually prepared for animals of different kinds.

Sakura looked around and saw animals she has never seen before.

Aang went up to one of the animals that appeared to be a cross between a lion and a armadillo-Sakura just wondered which if it's habits it had.

"Hey there fellow you look hungry" as Aang tried to reach for it; it let out a furious growl making Sakura wrap her arms around Aang and he did the same as they watched the animal roll up.

Then they heard sweeping behind them and turned to see a man with dark hair in a long braid and a beard "They are hungry." He said

* * *

Turns out the lanky man was the owner of the zoo; he showed Sakura and Aang around after they asked him questions about Aapa; unfortunately for them they came up empty at least unlike the others who they have questioned he didn't flinch or break out into a cold sweat when they asked their questions.

Now he was sharing their problems with them; that was when Sakura asked about the conditions of the zoo.

"The Dai Li won't give me any money because the kids stopped coming and the kids won't come because my zoo is nasty and broke."

Aang stopped to look at one of the cages "What kind of animal is that?"

The animal Aang was referring to looked like a cross between a kangaroo and a rabbit.

"That's a rabaroo" the zoo owner said

Sakura's sweat dropped "Should've guessed."

"I wish I could get her a big open parry like she's use to and let her hope her way to happiness."

Aang jumped "Let's do it!"

"Say again?" asked the zoo keeper

"Yeah Say again?" Sakura asked exasperatedly

"There's a big open space right outside the walls of the city." Aang explained

"But how are you going to transport all of these critters?"

"Don't worry I'm great with animals" Aang reassured

Sakura gulped "Aang; shouldn't you think about this?"

"What's there to think about? Come on Sakura, what could go wrong?"

* * *

Screams filled the city of Ba Sing Se as they all ran for safety from the wild animals that had 'suddenly' appeared out of nowhere. They were wrecking up stores; chasing people down the roads; eating the cabbages of a cart.

Sakura looked at all of this and shook her head "Wait a go Aang."

"This went so much better in my head." Aang said rubbing the back of his neck

Crossing her arms over her chest she frowned "In your head were you by any chance playing a flute to lead animals through the city?"

Aang gasped "That's it!"

"I was being sarcastic you know!?"

Aang took out a whistle like object in the shape of a...buffolo? Then taking a deep breath he blew into it using his airbending to ensure it reached throughout the entire city.

The ground began to shake as all of the animals rounded the corner.

"Time to run." Aang said hoping on his air sphere while Sakura jumped on the roofs and began following after Aang.

They ran all the way to the gates that began opening on their approach; they ran out where Aang began earth bending and enclosure for the animals. Sakura watched in awe as he earth bended. In a few short minutes the zoo was recreated.

"That was amazing Aang!" Sakura said clapping enthusiastically

"Thanks I try."

The zoo keeper came up to them and Aang asked "So how do you like your new facilities?"

"Excellent job avatar; you should think about working with animals for a living."

And that's when they heard a couple of voices.

"Mommy Miss snowflake got out of the house again."

Sakura jumped on top of one of the highest points in the new zoo and spotted several people gesturing to the enclosures where their pets had ended up.

"Wait a minute...Aang does that whistle attract ALL animals?"

Suppposed that the whistle had attracted more than the animals from the zoo.

"Yeah I think the avatar will be sticking to saving people." Sakura said laughing


	6. Fateful encounter-The boy with the scar

**Not much to say other than enjoy and heads up for a surprise**

* * *

"Okay; let's take a look." Sakura said starring a small boy; she felt his forehead "High fever; heavy cough suggesting inflammation-has he shown these kind of symptoms before?"

"Yes he has." The women replied

"Having trouble breathing from time to time?" Sakura asked

"Yes but never this severe before."

Nodding Sakura went to her clip board and started jotting something down "I believe this is asthma; it's a chronic disease where airways are inflamed making it difficult for air to move in and out of the lungs."

"Is there a cure?"

Sakura shook her head "No but it is something that can be managed just fine; lots of people have asthma and live with it their whole lives with little hassle."

Moving to the medicine cabinet Sakura brought back a back of herbs "Here" she handed it to the boy "Just inhale these every time you feel your chest tighten; it'll help."

"Thank you" the mother said

"I'd recommend making sure he doesn't over excite himself too much; that can result in what's called an asthma attack. You should also make sure that he never goes outside when his hair is wet too."

The mother nodded as Sakura petted the boys head and smiled.

After that she was off to tend to more patient's "Yuki; I could really use some help here."

"Of course," Yuki said rushing over to assist Sakura. The girl had some basic medical training-none as advanced as Sakura and the pinkette had also noted that this world was not as advanced as her own.

Sakura went over to a man who had a sprained ankle; nothing too serious and nothing she couldn't fix with a little medical jutsu. She attentively touched his ankle with a steady glowing chakra hand.

Not long after she removed her hand

"T-Thank you"

Giving a kind smile in return Sakura nodded "It's my job."

* * *

After running around all day dealing with patient after patient; from doing checkups for children; examinations for pregnant women; curing injuries it was quite exhausting and to top it off...

'I still have my clone running around here somewhere.'

Sakura had sent her clone-in disguise of course for the past few days to go and investigate and search for Aapa; so far nothing. Every time the clone vanished; the information that that clone had gathered or anything she had experienced Sakura will know. However she hasn't found anything out-even though this was a poor part of the city there wasn't a lot of big criminal activity going around; a few muggings here and there but nothing too serious. She was starting to doubt there even was a black market. With the Dai Li running the city that was a possibility to consider.

"You were amazing today Sakura" said Yuki as the pinkette splashed some water over her face.

"The days not over yet; we're completely out of medicine. I'll have to make some more." Sakura said cracking her stiff shoulders.

After the medical centre closed; Sakura had begun tending to the herb garden in the back room; there wasn't much there right now but she had given Hina a list of recommended herbs to get. She's only been working here a week and she was this busy already.

"Oh yes." Yuki said "Those herbs you wanted mom already ordered; I'll be getting them tonight so you can worry about making more medicine tomorrow night."

Sakura stopped in thought for a minute "I could go get them now."

"But it's quite a distance and there are too many boxes for me to carry without a-

"I'll get them." Sakura said placing her hands on Yuki's shoulders to stop the girl from going hysterical; she reminded Sakura of Hinata.

"But it's really late-

"Hey I'll be fine; we can't go a day without medicine in the medical centre." Sakura insisted.

Hina appeared from behind the curtain that acted as the only barrier between this room and the front.

"You are right Sakura dear but it is dangerous out on these streets at night."

Sakura grinned "Oh I think I can handle it. Besides it's not that late."

Hina looked a bit worried but held out a key to her "Very well; here are the keys to the clinic. When you're finished making the medicine; don't forget to lock up."

Sakura nodded "Of course."

* * *

Later on; Sakura had gone to the store that sold all of these herbs and special plants for different purposes. Somewhere medical herbs; others were spices and tea. The entire store smelt strongly of overwhelming spices and herbs. Yuki was not joking when she said there were a lot of boxes...five to be exact. But it wasn't anything she couldn't carry.

Sakura walked down the street a block away from the herbs store. The five boxes weren't really the problem so much as her line of sight that was blocked.

'I hope Katara doesn't yell at me for being late from work again.' Sakura thought

She had been working overtime a few times since she started; there were just so many sick people in this district. It was honestly sad.

Sakura sighed-she just felt her shadow clone vanish and as the same night before. No information. She might have to think up a new tactic.

'It hasn't even been that long and this city is already driving me nuts.' Sakura thought with a heavy sigh.

CRASH

Sakura stumbled back; her mind was so far off in thought that she hadn't even realised someone was taking the same turn she was around the corner and they ended up bumping into each other. Sakura heard the boxes falling around her and sighed.

"Hey why don't you watch where you're going?" she heard a husky voice

"I could say the same thing to you jerk," Sakura shot back rubbing her head "Couldn't you see me carrying the damn boxes?"

"Couldn't you see me carrying the boxes?" the guy asked at the same time

They stopped and each opened their eyes to look at the stranger they had bumped into.

Emerald met gold.

It had been a few weeks since he had come to the city; his frustrations were building the more time he spent within the walls of the city he thought as nothing more than a prison. To have become a refugee from the war that his own people had started; to have lost so much and still keep losing more? What kind of cruel joke was fate trying to play on him? Was there a silver lining to any of this? He thought not.

That was the belief of the banished prince of the fire nation; destined to chase the avatar until the end of time.

That was Zuko.

He and his uncle Iroh had arrived in Ba Sing Se not too long ago; after being named traitors to the Fire Nation. His own sister marking him as such.

Now here he was on the ground with a bunch of herb boxes scattered around him because his uncle had to get them jobs in a tea shop for which he had to go out at night and get more supplies for the store.

Sometimes he really hated his life-actually that was all the time.

And now he was starring at some girl with oddly coloured pink hair.

Sakura looked at the boy she had bumped into; he appeared more or less around her age maybe older. He had jet black hair; pale skin and a scar on the side of his face running along from the top half of his cheek from his eye; eyebrow to his ear.

'Must've been some burn' Sakura thought

But what really caught Sakura's attention were his brilliant gold eyes; that just stood out. She had never seen any of the civilians before with that kind of eye colour and the only other person she calls having that kind of eye colour was the girl that had tried Fire bending her into oblivion on top of a giant drill that almost killed her.

Zuko stood up and dusted his clothes off; he then noticed all of the boxes around and realised they weren't all his.

"Suppose we both couldn't see where we were going." He said offering his hand to Sakura as the polite thing to do.

Sakura hesitated for a moment before taking it; allowing him to lift her up from the ground.

"Yeah; sorry about calling you a jerk; I didn't realise you were also carrying herbs."

"Speaking of which," Zuko looked down at the boxes "Whose is whose?"

'I'm carrying medical herbs in my boxes so it should be marked that." Sakura said as she started checking the labels on the boxes. She began tossing the box one after the other on top of each other as she balanced it with one hand.

"Aren't those boxes heavy?" Zuko couldn't help observe

"Not for me." Sakura replied cheekily

Zuko gathered up his boxes and started heading down the corner he was going before he bumped into Sakura.

Sakura followed after; well not really followed she just happened to be going in the same direction.

"What are those for?" Sakura asked

"Tea" Zuko replied calmly

"Oh..." Sakura murmured "You work at that tea shop I've heard so much about. According to my co-workers they make the best tea there."

"My uncle makes it." he said still not changing his tone. She guessed he didn't really like talking about it for whatever reason. So she decided to just drop the subject.

"Sorry; I'm just trying to make conversation here to lighten the awkward silence." She told him honestly

"Are you following me?" he asked suddenly

Sakura frowned at him "No; this just happens to be the fastest way back to the medical centre."

She's had to deal with cocky jerks in the past before in her world; she was not going to put up with more stoic bastards in this one!

Sakura took a turn off without looking back at the guy; full intent of getting back to the medical centre and finishing her medicine so that she could get home and sleep away her frustrations.

'And to think I had planned on having such a great day.'

* * *

As she shuffled through the streets; it was starting to get a bit windy and her hair was blowing all around in her face. She adjusted the boxes on her. Then she stopped when she heard movement behind her. Turning around she saw four guys cutting her off on four corners surrounding her.

'Oh I really don't have time for this' Sakura thought looking around her.

"Hello there little lady." One of them said

"She's a pretty little thing."

Sakura looked around; taking in each of them. She was well aware that there were thugs in this part of the earth kingdom.

"What's in the boxes?" the fourth guy asked holding up his sword.

"Herbs" Sakura replied calmly with a sense of casualty in behaviour "Hey where did you get that sword?"

'Seriously?' a voice inside her head whispered

She was running out of weapons and it's not like this place was Konoha with a supply weapon store around every corner.

"Enough; just drop the boxes and any cash you have on you and you won't get hurt"

Sakura gave him a blank stare "No thank you; besides what would you guys need with a box of herbs."

"The black market seems to be short on linctuses resources and we heard that there was a new physician in town."

Sakura smirked "Well unfortunately for you guys; you picked the wrong person to mug."

She got ready looking for each corner at the guys to determine who was going to lunge first but just as the first guy made his move towards her a stone came flying out of nowhere hitting him and sending him to the ground.

The thieves started looking around.

"Ganging up on a helpless girl; very cowardly."

Sakura rolled her eyes when she heard the familiar voice 'Oh boy-Wait did he just call me helpless!'

"Hey I'm not helpless!"

"You're surrounded by four guys while carrying a box of herbs; I think you are." Zuko shot back

Clenching her fists Sakura let out a dissatisfied growl

"Fine then; well deal with you first boy." the one thief said before they moved away from Sakura and to Zuko-who had nothing on him to defend himself.

'Is that idiot trying to get himself killed?'

As the first man lunged at Zuko; his sword grasped and pointing towards the onyx haired boy with intent to kill; even though it became clear to Sakura from his stance that he was not trained in the ways of the sword as a proper martial artist.

She wasn't the only one who figured this out either.

Zuko manoeuvred his body away at the last minute avoiding the sword; he grabbed hold of the hilt of the sword and twisted his body consequentially flipping the man over as well. He held up the sword taking a proper fighting stance as the other three began to charge at him.

Zuko held up against them all; even with only one sword against three.

Sakura continued watching the fight commence. It was a little intriguing to say the least; she wondered where he learned those moves?

Avoiding another hit Zuko attacked the other thief; when he tried to throw his sword at Zuko's leg's the Fire Nation prince leaped into the air.

'Not bad.' Sakura thought watching as he landed behind the guy and gave him a swift kick. Then he went on to fighting the others. Sakura yawned as she watched for was while; those guys were persistent that was for sure.

"You doing okay over there?" called Sakura

Zuko was currently fending off one of the men while the other came up behind him; Sakura decided that she should do something before he got hurt.

When Zuko broke apart from the men they all began charging at him from all angles. But before they reached Zuko Sakura stepped in. She threw kunai knives at two of the men in front of Zuko pinning them to the wall and the other two she broke out some tai-jutsu. Sending both of them flying back.

"What was that about helpless?" Sakura asked hands on her hips

Zuko seemed to snap out of his trance wondering what the heck just happened; he watched as she moved back to her boxes.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Sakura asked "Stalking me?"

"As if" Zuko responded dropping the sword on the ground; he pointed to the boxes he had been carrying "You mixed up one of the boxes."

Sakura flushed "Oops."

"Yeah..." Zuko trailed

As they went to swap the boxes one of the guys that was lying on the ground had stood up and began coming at them with his sword. Sakura went to immobilise him when he was close enough but then Zuko grabbed her and pulled her to his chest spinning her around; she heard him grunt in pain and turned to see that the man had managed to hit Zuko's side.

Sakura quickly moved out of his arms before she went to the man and gave him a powerful punch that sent him into the air and straight into the fountain.

Turning back; she went over to Zuko placing her hand on his shoulder as he slumped over holding the side of his stomach.

Sakura turned around and bent on her knees "Quickly get on my back; I'll treat you at the clinic."

"I'm fine" Zuko wheezed

"YOU ARE NOT FINE AND I AM NOT ARGUING WITH YOU ABOUT THIS; GET ON." That was the first time that Sakura's temper had snapped in a while. She had done her best to control herself since she had entered the city for the sake of Aang and everyone else but now she had lost all patience.

* * *

Sakura took Zuko to the medical clinic; she went to cleaning the wound. Zuko would hiss when she dabbed the cloth that was coated with herbal water which made his flesh burn but it would stop any infection.

"That hurts" he said

"Stop whining" Sakura said looking up at him "You're going to get an infection of we don't clean it!"

Deciding that it was pointless to fight this girl Zuko decided to remain quite; grit his teeth and allow her to finish.

"What's your name?" Sakura asked suddenly as she continued to concentrate on the wound.

"Why should I tell you?" he asked impassively

Sakura glared at him "Because I asked and I'm nursing your wound-I might just make a slip if you don't tell me your name."

He glared back at her "Isn't it against a physicians conduct to harm the patient intentionally?"

Sakura shrugged "Technically yes but I'm actually off duty."

'This insufferable!' Zuko strained

"Lee" he said quickly with annoyance still clear in his eyes "My names Lee."

That was at least the name on the fake passport he had; when he and his uncle had started on the run they had managed to get fake identities. No one could know his real name because they may realise that they were Fire Nation-after all their names weren't common in earth kingdom territory.

Sakura held back a laugh; the mention of that name reminded her of the Lee back in Konoha.

"I'm Sakura." she said

"Like you hair?" he asked imperviously

Sakura pulled a face "Yes like my hair and it's natural before you even ask."

"I wasn't going to." Zuko said honestly-though he was thinking about it. In his travels around the world he has never come across anyone with a hair colour as unique as that; yet it seemed to suit the girl. Her pale complexion and bright green eyes went well with her hair. It was complimenting.

After cleaning the wound Sakura went to actually heal the wound-then she could get the handsome shirtless guy out of her sight. Coating her hand in chakra she began moving it towards his stomach when he grasped her wrist.

"What is going on with your hand?" he asked sound slightly worried.

"It's nothing to worry about; I'm going to heal you now." Sakura said removing her hand and break eye contact with Zuko. She tenderly placed her hand over his wound and began speeding up the cells to heal. She found that her chakra worked much better on people in this world for whatever reason; it may have had something to do with the fact that because they didn't use chakra themselves.

Zuko gasped in amazement as he felt the pain slipping away and his wound physically beginning to close.

'What kind of healing is this?' he wondered; he knew that water benders were able to heal but this wasn't like waterbending. For one she wasn't using water.

Sakura removed her hand; the wound was mostly closed; only a little line of flesh remained. She could just wrap that up.

After doing just that she stood up.

"Alright; you're good to go."

Zuko stood up and put on his robe; he barely felt it anymore.

"Thanks..." Zuko muttered

Sakura waved her hand "No problem although the reason you got hurt is kind of my fault. So thank you-I owe you one."

She smiled at him and Zuko felt his heart skip a beat; it had been so long since anyone has looked at him with such a genuine expression besides his uncle. He didn't think it was possible for anyone to look at him like that anymore.

"You're welcome." he said turning away "Pinkie"

'Oh he didn't...'

"I take it back you are a jerk."

* * *

When Zuko left Sakura realised that it had gotten a bit late but she still had to make the medicine for tomorrow. She went to the boxes to finish up. She stayed in the store a good three hours-luckily she was on the last box but when she opened it she realised that these were not the herbs she was supposed to have!

Then it dawned on her why...from tonight's event's Sakura and Zuko had forgotten to switch the boxes back.

Sakura slapped her forehead 'Idiot...'

* * *

The next morning when Sakura woke up she was not in a cheerful mood and quite morose. She stomped into the living room where her friends were gathered and ready for the day while she just woke up. Even Toph was ready and that's saying something!

"Sakura are you alright?" Katara asked

Groaning in response Sakura sat down at the table and grabbed a roll and a cup of tea. "Someone's in a mood." Observed Sokka

"I am not!" Sakura snapped as she gulped down her tea; she was SO in a mood. Not only did she waste three hours preparing medicine only to find that she couldn't complete it because the last ingredient had been switched with tea leaves! Now she had to go to that tea shop; see that insufferable guy again and make the switch!

'I really don't want to see him.' She thought

"I can tell you're lying." Toph said as she ate calmly "I can feel the change in your breathing and heart rate. Something happen you want to tell us?"

Sighing Sakura shook her head and stood up "I've got to go to work."

She left carrying the box of tea leaves.

* * *

Sakura looked up at the building in front of her; it was slightly smaller than the clinic but when she entered she saw it was just as packed as one. Almost all of the tables were full. Sakura looked around; she really just wanted to get this over with so that she could go on with her life.

She saw an elderly man serving tea; he had long grey hair and a long beard but what Sakura noticed most was how he seemed to give off this positive; calming aura.

And just as with Zuko; Sakura had no clue that he was of Fire Nation.

"Excuse me." Sakura said walking up to him

"How may I help you?" he asked kindly

She held out the box "Um...I was wondering if you could check your supplies for any medicinal herbal plants. There seems to have been a mix up and I really need those for medicine"

"Oh dear," He said "Now I'm starting to understand why my nephew was so late delivering our tea last night."

Sakura gave a nervous chuckle before talking "I'm Sakura."

"Ah; Cherryblossom-the name suits you well. My name is Mushi." Iroh said; he took the box from her and told her to follow him to the back.

"I believe it should be somewhere in storage." He told Sakura "We've had to really stock up."

He was not kidding when Sakura entered the storage room there were several boxes stacked up on each other. She was going to have to sift through all of these?

"Don't worry." Iroh said as if sensing her distress "My nephew should know where he put the boxes last night."

Sakura stiffened; did that mean he was going to-

"Oh nephew could you come over here a minute!?" Iroh called in a sign song voice

Soon Sakura heard footsteps and a familiarly voice "What is it uncl-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

Sakura gave him a deadpan look trying her best to hide her irritation "You forgot to switch the box."

Zuko calmed down "Oh..."

"This nice girl says that there was a mix up of medicine herbs and tea leaves. Could you help her find it?"

"But uncle-

"Wonderful." Iroh said before walking out of the room leaving the two teens alone.

Zuko let out a low grumble "I put the boxes somewhere here; come on pinkie."

Sakura felt her vein throb "Don't call me pinkie."

They started rummaging around the boxes but after five minutes with still no luck of finding them. Sakura groaned in annoyance. She was already late for work; the medicine wasn't finished and Hina and Yuki would be wondering where she was by now.

"How could you forget where you put the boxes? You only had them last night!" Sakura complained as she continued checking the labels.

Truth be told Zuko actually just tossed the boxes randomly into the storage room; he wasn't sure where they were but there was no way he was going to admit that and humiliate himself. His pride would not allow it.

"Well if you hadn't gotten the boxes mixed up in the first place then we wouldn't be searching!" Zuko pointed out.

"It was dark; I don't have night vision!"

The room fell silent again; they kept searching. Then Sakura looked up and noticed the box with the medical clinics tag.

"There it is!" Sakura pointed up at the pile of boxes. It was right on top. Zuko must've thrown it higher than he thought. Sakura started climbing up the other boxes to reach it.

"Are you crazy? Get down." Zuko said watching as she climbed up without an ounce of fear.

"Relax, I've got it." Sakura said reaching for the box and pulling it out but just as she did one of the boxes that were uneven to the rest slipped out of position and the entire row that Sakura was standing on came crashing down.

"Look out!" Zuko said as the boxes started crashing around him.

THUD

"ACK"

Sakura groaned as she sat up; she looked at her hand and sighed in relief when she saw the box was undamaged. Then she heard a moaning under her and saw that she had landed right on top of Zuko.

"You okay?" she asked calmly

"Do I look okay?" Zuko asked still groaning "I told you not to do that."

"Hey I got the box at least." Sakura said holding it up with a cheeky grin

"That's great now can you get off of me? You're not as light as you look."

Sakura's cheeks puffed out angrily; she was seriously going to kick this guys-

The door opened and Iroh came in "What was that noise?"

He stopped when he saw the two teens and the position they were in "Didn't mean to intrude."

With that he walked back out leaving the two starring in shock-did he seriously think that they-Sakura slapped her forehead. Now she was never going to be able to walk pass this part of town again.

"Are you going to get off any time soon?" Zuko asked equally embarrassed.

Squeaking Sakura jumped off "Sorry."

Standing up he dusted off his clothes and left the room "If you're done here; you can leave."

Zuko rushed out doing his best to hide the blush that had crept onto his face 'Calm down, calm down.'

* * *

Sakura sighed-well that was officially one of the most embarrassing moments in her life and she was a natural cluts from childhood. Standing up and feeling slightly depressed Sakura walked out of the storage room. She saw 'Lee' and his uncle behind the counter and a girl talking to them. She had brown hair in two pigtails braid sand brown eyes; she wore a green robe that Sakura had seen most girls in this city wear.

From what Sakura could see and the way the girl was looking at Zuko; she guessed that she was just about to ask him out.

'Good luck with that.' Sakura thought rolling her eyes.

"Hi Lee; my names Jin. Thank you and...well I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime?"

"I-I can't." he said quickly

"Why not?" the girl Jin asked

"Well it's because I...I'm already going out with someone else." he said and Sakura could tell that was an obvious lie. Plus she wasn't sure who would be able to stand that guys attitude. No matter how handsome he was. She already fell for one handsome jackass and had to find out the hard way that that was not the best combination.

"Oh..." Jen said then her eyes fell on Sakura "Is that her?"

Sakura tensed; oh hell no. Sakura was going to set that girl straight before-

"Yes." Zuko said quickly

"This is news to me." Iroh said with a slight smile

'ME TOO' Sakura mentally screamed

"W-Wha-

Sakura was too shocked to even form words.

"We're going out this afternoon." He said

'Whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttt' Sakura thought

"Oh okay." Jin said slightly downward "Thanks for the tea."

Iroh walked over to Sakura who was still in too much shock to say anything. "Well my dear I had no clue that you and my nephew were an item."

'Yeah NEITHER DID I' Sakura wanted to shout.

Zuko realising the dilemma put his arm around Sakura's shoulder "Uncle; she didn't want anyone to know yet-she's a bit shy. I'm going to have a word with her quickly."

* * *

Zuko took Sakura to the back of the store where they were free from sharp ears and witnesses because Sakura was considering killing Zuko.

"What the hell was that about?" Sakura hissed flaying her arms around "Going out? Why?"

Zuko shushed her "Listen; my uncle would've made me go out with that girl if I didn't say something."

Sakura rolled her eyes "Couldn't you have said something else? Like oh I don't know 'I'm not interested?'"

"That wouldn't work with my uncle." Zuko tried explaining "Look its fine; we'll just go out tonight then he'll stop bothering me with this stuff."

"But I don't want to go out with you!" Sakura snapped

"The feelings mutual." Zuko replied "Look it's just one night and then you and I will never have to see each other again."

"Why should I agree to this anyway?" Sakura asked

"Because you owe me one?" Zuko said with a slight smirk "So I'm gonna collect."

Sakura hissed and learned that you really should've throw around empty gestures because some people might take you up on it.

"Fine...it's a date."

* * *

When Sakura got to work her bad mood seemed to escalate; she kept it in check around her patients-not their fault some jerk forced her into a date but behind the scenes Yuki noticed Sakura's foul mood.

"What's wrong?" Yuki asked gently

"Nothing." Sakura said as she washed her hands by the basin

To add onto her terrible mood she had to juggle making the medicine she couldn't complete last night because of the missing ingredients. She was running back and forth which was doing great for her cardio but not for disposition.

"I can tell that's a lie." Yuki said softly "Y-You know you can talk about it."

Sakura smiled when the girl stuttered; she really did remind her of Hinata. "I guess."

Sakura told Yuki about what happened last night with the herbs boxes getting mixed up and the attack and then the forced date.

Yuki giggled "That's so cute."

Sakura gaped at her; that was not the reaction she thought she'd get. "Have you missed the part where I said he's a total jerk?"

"Well some guys are like that but you're still going on a date together."

"It's forced" Sakura exclaimed

Hina walked into the room to see her daughter and Sakura "What are you two up to?"

Yuki smiled and pointed to Sakura "Sakura's got a date tonight."

"Oh really?" Hanna asked with a small smile "Whose the lucky boy?"

Sakura blushed red "J-Just the boy from the tea shop and it's not actually a date."

Oh farewell dignity.

"Oh you mean Li?" asked Hanna "Yes; I know him. His uncle makes the most amazing tea. His nephew is quite a handsome man though the poor dear has a terrible scar."

"Oh yeah now I remember" Yuki said and then looked at Sakura "You're going out with Li? Wow; a lot of girls actually really like him but he's kinda hard to approach."

"So when are you seeing him?" asked Hina

"This afternoon after work."

Hina gasped "Surely you can't mean straight after work; you're at least planning on going home and changing first right?"

"No" Sakura replied honestly; why go through so much effort when it wasn't even a real date?

"Well then not to worry; we'll close up a bit early so we can take a trip to our house and get you ready."

"HUUUUH" Sakura asked

"Well surely you can't expect to go out looking like that." Hina said gesturing to Sakura's attire; she wore her regular red shirt and tight black shorts with her boots.

Sakura grunted and slammed her head on the table 'I should've just kept my mouth shut'

* * *

Finally the dreaded hour had arrived when Sakura had to go and meet 'Li' aka Zuko. It had taken about an hour and a half for Hina and Yuki to finish prepping Sakura. They had done up her hair in a small bun but a few strands were still out; of course they would be since her hair was so short. She was also out of her regular ninja get up and in a long light green robe with rose petal embroidery on it curtsey of Yuki's closet.

Because of all the prepping she was late.

Sakura walked over to the tea shop where she saw Zuko waiting; she came up to him and started laughing when she saw his hair that had a spikey edge to it now all neatly gelled but at least he was still in his old comfortable clothes.

"You're late."

Sakura snickered "Sorry."

"What's with the outfit?" he asked

"My employer and her daughter just couldn't resist turning me into their living dress up doll. What's with your hair?"

"My uncle insisted on doing it." Zuko said as he ran a hand through his hair returning it to its former messy locks. "Took him ten minute too."

"Well let's get this over with." Sakura muttered

* * *

They went to a restaurant first that was in the centre of town which meant it was extremely lively and there were people all over-more importantly couples. And as if the night couldn't have been anymore awkward for Sakura-the girl that Zuko had turned down for a date was also there; Sakura caught her peering at them from behind a house. It was clear she was following them.

'Why does this world hate me so much?'

"Hey don't look now but guess whose follow us." Sakura said gesturing to behind the house.

"Jin?" Zuko said when he saw the girl peer around.

"Yep; aren't you mister popular?" Sakura teased

"This is going to be harder than I thought." Zuko muttered

"What do you mean?"

"If she's following us then we'll have to make it look like we're a real couple on a real date."

Sakura hit her head softly against the table "No kidding genius."

The two were glaring at each other until the waiter came over and got their order. Jin was still watching the two interact-and it was awkward. They were basically sitting there opposite one another; trying to avoid eye contact. The silence was becoming too much for Sakura so she decided to make a pathetic attempt to break it without throwing any insults at him.

"So..."

"Yeah..."

"So did you always live in Ba Sing se?" asked Sakura

"No..." Zuko replied

"Oh" Sakura replied completely gauche  
"What about you?" Zuko asked startling Sakura

"Huh?"

"Did you live in Ba Sing for a long time?"

"No" Sakura replied honesty "I actually just came here recently."

"So where are you from?"

'Damn off with a hard one.'

"Um well from a village that's pretty far." Sakura told him

"I see..." Zuko trailed "So where-

"I can't exactly explain it" Sakura replied sheepishly "It's kind of a long story and kind of complicated. Where were you living before you came here?"

"That's...complicated too."

Sakura nodded in understanding "Okay then how about this; it seems that we're both on edge because we've got some things we don't want anyone to know. How about instead of running around in circles we just...pass up on anything we don't want to say and move on to something else? Good?"

"I guess." Zuko responded

"So how long have you been in Ba Sing Se?" Sakura asked

"My uncle and I just moved here as well not too long ago."

"Did you catch the faerie here?" Sakura asked

"Yes; how about you."

"Well; I had to travel through the serpents pass with my friends."

Zuko looked at her in surprise "The serpents pass!?"

Sakura nodded.

"Are you insane or just plain suicidal?"

Sakura couldn't help but laugh "Well-my friends tell me I'm pretty reckless."

"I'll say" Zuko agreed nodding "You took on those thieves but you are unbelievable strong for a girl."

Sakura raised an eyebrow "So you mean I can't be strong if I'm a girl?"

Zuko held up his hand "No! I just-

Sakura started laughing "I know what you meant; thanks. And for someone working in a tea shop you're pretty good with a sword."

"I could say the same for you with those knives." Zuko countered "Where'd you learn to use them?"

Sakura leaned back a small smirk playing on her face "Where I come from a lot of people in my village learn these kinds of things. Let's just leave it at that"

"I see."

"And what about you?"

"What about me?" Zuko asked

"Where'd you learn to wield a sword? There's no way with those moves that you learned those by just playing around with a sword."

Zuko appeared hesitant to answer her question but their conversation was actually going civilly

"I was taught by my uncle." Zuko said that was only half a lie; technically his uncle did teach him but he also had tutors.

"Wow; your uncle?" Sakura asked in disbelief "He just seems so...well"

Zuko chuckled slightly "I know what you mean; my uncle's different now than he was then."

The rest of their meal went on and things started to settle as the environment became more bearable around them. Sakura and Zuko began speaking about a lot of different things.

Sakura started laughing "Wait so your uncle literally did that when you got the chicken pox?"

"It's not funny!" Zuko complained

"Oh it is! I think your uncle slathering you in smelly crushed tea leaves and wrapping you up like a mummy is pretty funny" Sakura giggled "But then again my dad's not that much better on the overreaction talent; he literally followed me and my friends one day when we went out for lunch disguised as a waiter!"

"So you're not here with your parents?" Zuko asked

Sakura shook her head "No; I'm staying with some friends for now."

"Where's your family?"

"Back at the village." Sakura told him truthfully "So what do you like to do for fun?"

"Nothing really." Zuko answered; he hadn't had time for fun ever since he had started hunting the avatar.

Sakura sighed "Oh boy; you're one of those guys huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"The kind who's got purpose," She told him rubbing her head "You don't have time for anything else because you're too busy focusing on the goals you're striving towards; it's actually very noble and also sad."

Zuko looked at her as if waiting for an explanation which she gave.

"You're going through life with one thought in mind but that's not what life is about."

"My life hasn't started until I achieve my goal." Zuko said offhandedly

"Actually I think that's where your life ends." Sakura told him "You may rush through things never making time for anything else because you want to achieve your goal but you never think that there's more to life than just reaching for that goal."

"If the goal is almost impossible to reach; then what can you do but commit one hundred percent of your effort?" asked Zuko

"You could always take time to stop; it's not like that goal will ever slip away. It'll always be there." Sakura said "No matter what you may think; it's your goal and no one can take it away from you."

Zuko fell silent; all this talk about goals reminded him of how he had been hunting the avatar for so long and yet somehow he's now ended up in Ba Sing Se. He was a refugee; what happened to his goal to capturing the avatar? Was that all off the table now since his sister labelled him a traitor?

"Wanna know something though?" Sakura said as she finished her food "Even if it seems like stopping will make you fall short of your goals; you may just be reaching the half way point."

"And if your goals become unattainable?"

"A goal is never unattainable but there are no rules about not being allowed to make a new goal for yourself." Sakura shrugged

The pinkette hadn't even realised the severe impact her words were having on Zuko.

"What do you do for fun then?"

"A lot of things but I like to look at the stars." Sakura responded

"Look at the stars?"

She nodded "Yeah; it's very nostalgic. Clears your mind and just helps you feel better. In my case I've been doing it a lot recently."

Sakura glanced at one of the tables "Oh..."

"What?"

"She's gone." Sakura said looking around "I can't see her."

Zuko realised that Sakura was gesturing to Jin and she wasn't there anymore.

"I guess that's that." Sakura said standing up "Shouldn't we head back?"

Zuko stood up silently.

Sakura smiled; she had actually ended up enjoying her time with Zuko and became a little less resentful of the guy she literally just met last night. They had touched on many topics over the night; some when it became too personal they stepped back. Sakura noted that Zuko didn't mention any other family members besides his uncle and Sakura decided not to touch that subject. Sakura had to admit he was a lot more pleasant than he first came off as.

* * *

"Wait" Sakura stopped "Where are we going? This isn't the way back."

"I know." Zuko said "Just follow me."

'Bossy'

Zuko took her to the far end of the town where there was a wide open space one of the few in the crowded lower ring of the city.

"Okay and the reason we're here is because?" Sakura asked

Zuko pointed up.

Sakura gasped when she saw the clear night sky; there were hundreds of stars shining so brightly that it basically glittered. Sakura couldn't help but be in awe at the sight.

"Oh wow."

"You said that looking at the stars helped clear your mind and make better choices." Zuko said "I wanted to test this for myself."

Sakura lied down on the grass with Zuko following after her. They just stayed there in silence.

"There's something about doing this that always made me feel I don't know...better" Sakura said softly "Though to my friends I may not seem to be having a hard time. I'm really struggling with my situation."

Flashes of her friends from Konoha came to mind.

"Then again I've always struggled" Sakura said making Zuko turn to her "Nothing ever came easy but I always believed that that's what made me strong."

"I know what you mean." Zuko said in a soft tone; he understood exactly what she meant. "To struggle; to suffer; to deal with the pain of being unable to reach your goals; yet...I've never thought that it was possible to change your goals."

Sakura smiled "It's always possible to do that because they are your goals; yet sometimes you feel obligated to do them and you don't even realise that you weren't the one who set those goals. You never really give up on your goals either; not if you create a new one to strive towards."

No longer gazing at the stars the two began to stare at each other; neither one breaking eye contact. The amorous atmosphere had been set around them without realising it as they leaned in towards each other. Eyes gently closing; losing sight of each other only to feel the softness of each other's lips

'Oh boy...'Sakura's mind went blank as she kissed Zuko-someone she barely knew for more than two days; yet someone she felt so strongly connected to. A sense of familiarity with one another unlike anything she has ever felt before.

* * *

Zuko and Sakura walked down the streets back to Zuko's apartment; he had wanted to walk Sakura home but then she explained to him that she didn't live in the lower ring and it would've been a waste to have to walk her all the way there.

Finally they reached the apartments.

"So..." Sakura trailed with a small blush on her face.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Zuko asked and Sakura nodded shyly.

Zuko leaned in and kissed her goodnight before walking into the building.

And Sakura was on her way home with her heart feeling a little lighter from a burden she had carried with her in Konoha for almost four years.

* * *

When Zuko walked into the apartment he saw that his uncle was still awake.

"How was your evening prince Zuko?"

Zuko paused for a minute as if contemplating if he should reply "It was...nice."

And Zuko planned on having a lot more nice evenings with the pinkette; even if it was just for a little while he would stop walking the path to his goals and destiny and try to see what the world had to offer if he didn't just go in one direction all the time. After all she did say that destiny had a habit of meeting you halfway.

Little did Sakura and Zuko know that they had just tangled the red string of fate by tying theirs together.

* * *

When Sakura came home that night she had a huge smile on her face which made her friends a little suspicious but she went to bed without saying a word about what had happened at work.

"Why's she so happy?" asked Toph

"I have no clue but it's scary." Sokka said shivering

 **Okay I know that I really rushed into this and I was going to split this into two chapters but I thought why not give my readers a treat? I understand that Sakura and Zuko coming together so quickly is surprising and that you may have wanted the relationship to develop but before you review about that I want you all to know that THERE IS A METHOD TO MY MADNESS.**

 **Or in this case a method to my match making**

 **Anyway there's a method. I needed this to happen fast.**

 **Don't forget the plot can only thicken from here on in so look forward to some interesting chapters ahead!**


	7. Surprise-enter Jet

**Here is another chapter for all my lovely readers, I want to thank you for the reviews and I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hope you enjoy this one as well.**

* * *

Five weeks since Sakura got sent into another dimension and she's been adjusting quite nicely if she did say so herself. She found herself new friends-well they found her; a new home-temporary and under constant surveillance yes but at least it was free; a job at a medical centre-in the poorest part of the city but the staff were really good people and to top it off she had a boyfriend! Yes; he was a bit of a crab at times but he wasn't completely unbearable when he didn't speak at least. Now she's also been helping Aang find Appa but there was nothing to report. Every night she sent a clone out to go and get information and every night her clone came back with nothing; she was also being watched by the Dai Li so she couldn't do it herself.

She was currently at work right now but she'd be taking tomorrow off because she and her friends were going to start putting up posters to find Appa.

"And that should do it." Sakura says as she finished wrapping up a little girls arm "Now no more playing in your dad's tools okay?"

The girl nodded "Okay"

Smiling brightly Sakura gently stroked the girl's head; before stepping back and allowing her mother to take her.

"You've been doing an excellent job Sakura." Said Hina

"Thank you; and also thank you for allowing me to work here."

"Well I'm glad I did. You've really turned this place around."

Sakura rubbed the back of her head and laughed nervously "Not really; I mean all I did was-

"I'm not only talking about the clinic; I'm talking about the state of the lower ring." Hina said "You've managed to make it a bit better with your skills. Now there are less sick folk around here and it's all thanks to you."

Sakura blushed then she heard Yuki's voice as well "It's true."

"Thank you but I don't really deserve all the credit." Sakura told them; she smiled at Yuki.

Over the last month she's been teaching Yuki some advance medical techniques; since the girl already had some basic medical training on her side. They were of course the conventional kind of training without the chakra abilities.

Sakura and Yuki were cleaning up after a long days work again; it was late afternoon and the sun was beginning to set. The two girls laughed together as they discussed today's events.

Then the door opened and Zuko came walking in. Yuki gave Sakura a knowing smile making her blush before she walked over to Zuko; wrapping her arms around him neck she gave him a small kiss before pulling away.

"Hey; I thought I told you not to come to my work anymore?" Sakura said in a teasing manner; she couldn't exactly concentrate when someone was looking over her shoulder the whole time waiting for her to get finished with patients so she could go on her lunch break.

"I know." Zuko said "But I'm actually a patient today."

Sakura gasped and her face changed to concerned "Where? What's wrong? What happened?"

"Slow down; it's just a minor pain in my chest and back!" Zuko said trying to reassure her but it was not working because she dragged him into the check up room and sat him down. She told him to remove the top half of his robe. Sakura saw that there was a bruise at Zuko's colour bone.

"Where did this come from?" Sakura asked lightly touching the purple tinted flesh.

"I just slipped and hit my shoulder." Zuko said; though what he didn't mention was that when he slipped he hit the end of the sharp point of a table.

Sakura just stared at it; the exact place of the bruise...

"You said you were getting chest pains right?" Sakura asked seriously

Zuko nodded.

"It couldn't be..." Sakura trailed before she filled her hands with chakra and started to trail her finger along Zuko's chest; from his heart until the bruise. "You had to hit that exact spot didn't you?"

"Why what's wrong?" he asked

Now; this was something that Sakura had learned on the side from studying medical jutsu; she had been looking at pressure points of the human body. While it was only possible for people who held the Byakugan to be able to see the chakra network to control the flow of chakra; Sakura had discovered that there were two points in the body; that when hit simultaneously it would temporarily stop the flow of chakra because there were two main gates connected just above the colour bone and right above the heart. They were the easiest places to hit if you wanted to stop the flow of chakra.

'While this is just a theory; I think Lee managed to somehow block an energy gate for his chi But because it was only the one gate pressure is starting to build in his chest.' Sakura thought-he may not have been a bender (as far as Sakura knew) but everyone had a chi network in them.

"I'm gonna try something." Sakura stopped at the bruise and then trailed her other hand down to the top of his chest and without warning gave him a quick jab making him groan.

"How do you feel now?" Sakura asked

Zuko took a breath; placing his hand on his chest "It feels normal...like lighter."

Sakura nodded "That's good; it's because your chi gate was blocked."

She pointed to his chest and above his collar bone "Hit these two areas at the same time at the right point and you'll block your chi temporarily; but if you only hit one gate pressure will build in that area like it did with you and you'll start feeling pains like that."

"I see..." Zuko trailed before a smirk touched his lips as he grabbed Sakura's wrist and pulled her down for a kiss making the pinkette blushed and pull away.

"I'm at work right now; no PDA" she told him

"I thought you were off duty?"

"How can I be off duty when I literally just seen to a patient aka you?" Sakura countered with her hands on her hips.

"You're finished so you're off duty now. Isn't that indication to drop the doctor patient act; unless you want to keep going?"

Sakura's face became the same shade as her hair; over the past month she had been spending a lot of time with Zuko (who she thought was named Lee) and they've been getting close to each other but not too close as to reveal their pasts-that was something that neither one of them ever brought up; like they each had their own secrets. Sakura couldn't help but get the sense that he was hiding something but she didn't push the issue because she herself had her secrets and only Aang; Katara; Sokka and Toph knew them.

Another thing she has never ever brought up with Zuko is his scar-it looked like a wound that was inflicted on purpose and not earned accidentally and from the way she saw fire bending with Azula she was certain that it was possible that a fire bender had done that to him but she wouldn't bring herself to mention it; if he wanted to talk about it he would on his own time.

Sakura had her own scars that she was hiding as well. They just weren't visible.

Zuko looked at the pinkette blushing in front of him; over the few weeks he had been living in this city as a refugee he had despised and cursed his fate. A prince of the Fire Nation being deduced to a waiter in a tea shop; living in the enemy's territory. He had lost everything. He saw Sakura as the only good thing that had come of being in this place. To think a girl with pink hair would be the one to help him cope with living in this city? It was laughable. Yet; for some reason he didn't mind it. He didn't mind forgetting his misfortunes for a little while and being with her. A month now they've been together; a month that his life seemed to have given him something good; he never wondered yet how long it would last. He felt like they were both connected on a level where they were able to truly understand each other. When he was upset or in one of his moods due to his situation she managed to find the right words to console him-his uncle always gave him advice yes but she gave him a comfort. It was as if without even telling her about his past; his cursed destiny; she still knew in a way that she would have the right words. Telling him not to surrender yet edging him to take the time to appreciate what has been given.

* * *

"So you're not going to be here tomorrow?" Zuko asked as he and Sakura walked hands intertwined.

"No; my friends need my help with something; it's the reason we came to this city actually." Sakura told him discreetly.

"Where do you want to go now?" Zuko asked

There weren't many places to go-least not places that Sakura or Zuko enjoyed.

"I'm not sure; to be honestly I prefer wide open spaces but here..."

"It's a prison." Zuko finished for her

Sakura shrugged "If that's how you see then it will be. Other's see this as a sanctuary for protection. Doesn't really matter though"

Zuko gave her an odd look "And by that you mean?"

"It's a matter of your own mentality." Sakura said "You can decide what you want to make of a situation."

His hand tightened on hers.

"You think that's possible in every situation?"

Sakura nodded without hesitation "Of course; I know sometimes...it seems like it's impossible to make the best of things but it's really not."

Zuko frowned slightly; there were also something about Sakura that Zuko found difficult to handle. When she talked like this for instance.

"That's chimera."

"It's not a fantasy Lee." Sakura said; there were times when he got like this. Like he had lost all hope and belief in anything good; he may be a man of few words but Sakura had one of those before and by now she was aware of how to read between the lines.

Zuko stopped walking; he turned to the side to look in silence contemplating. "What's wrong?" she asked

"You're always so sure about everything you say. Sometimes I wonder..."

"What?" Sakura asked

"No it's nothing." He said

Sakura rolled her eyes and moved to stand in front of him; her eyes burning with a fire of determination "You're always saying that and I know you might not want to talk about it but for once could you just finish this sentence!"

Taking a breath Zuko spoke "It's just that-sometimes it's almost as if you've got no worries in the world. Like everything's perfect."

'Well no worries in this world.' Sakura thought

"I actually do have one worry in this world." She said softly; her eyes downcast "And trust me; nothing is perfect. But there's no point in looking at a problem and never trying to find a solution."

Turning to the pinkette Zuko lifted up her head; that look in her eyes. It reminded him of his own eyes; the one he had when he felt like there was no hope.

He kissed her swiftly before drawing back "Let's go get some dinner."

Sakura looked up at him and smiled "Okay."

* * *

The next day Sokka; Sakura and Toph were waiting patiently for Aang and Katara to get back. They went to find a printer to make posters but Sokka clearly didn't get the memo judging from all the scattered papers around him; with drawings of what's supposed to be Appa.

"Sokka..."Sakura started wearily as she stared at his pictures

"Yes Sakura?"

"Is this supposed to be Appa?" she asked looking at the strange figure on the drawing.

"Yes" Sokka said nodding enthusiastically while Sakura continued to give him a nervous smile.

Just then Aang and Katara entered.

"We found a printer to make our posters!" said Katara holding up a picture; Sakura went to go and see.

"So this is Appa?" Sakura said looking at the poster

"Yup; though he's way bigger in real life." Aang added in a matter of fact tone.

Sokka gave them a confused look "I thought finding the lost Appa posters was my job? I've been working all day on my Appa"

He showed them the flyers and Katara started to giggle while Aang gave correction.

"Sokka the arrows supposed to be on Appa's head."

"This is his head!"

"Why are there feet coming out of it?" asked Katara

"Those are his horns! I haven't seen him in a while okay." Slumped Sokka

"It looks just like him to me." Toph said in a sarcastic tone

"Thank you I worked really-why do you feel the need to do that?"

Sakura laughed and patted Sokka's shoulder "Don't worry Sokka if she didn't say it I would've."

"That's right!" Sokka said happily "And you can see so it's not-Dang it SAKURA!"

It finally occurred that the pinkette had never seen Appa before.

Aang held up the posters "Come on let's get busy!"

* * *

The group began spreading the posters around; Aang and Momo went together to send them via airway while the rest set up posters on the ground on walls. They had started from the upper ring much to Sakura's dismay; she was hoping to be able to use that as an excuse to pop in and see Lee AKA Zuko. After yesterday's discussion; Sakura felt like something was off. A kind of disturbing feeling she couldn't shake.

'Oh well' she thought as she fiddled with her shuriken 'There's tomorrow.'

"Hey will you quit pouting over your boyfriend and get those flyers up!" said Sokka

* * *

Zuko clicked his tongue in annoyance; he was feeling particularly on edge today after what happened with Sakura yesterday. That conversation they had almost went somewhere it shouldn't and he had barely avoided it.

They never touched on each other's past unless the other consented to sharing. They'd ask a question and then depending on how vague an answer is they would know whether or not to tread on that ground yet yesterday he felt like divulging everything to her. He was begging to trust her-basically still a stranger.

'Why' he wondered; why was it that he suddenly wanted to reveal his troubles to the girl? He barely knew her; they've only been going out for a few weeks and their first date was supposed to be a fake one! And now he was in a sour mood without Sakura to bring him out of it.

He angrily slammed a cup of tea on the customers table and walked away with the tray heading towards the door.

Right now some rich man from the upper ring was talking to his uncle about allowing him to have his own tea shop and giving him a house in the upper ring. Since when did they stoop so low as to answer the beck and call of others?

It was humiliating and infuriating.

"Did you hear nephew? This man is going to give us our own tea shop in the upper ring." Iroh said excitedly

"That's right young man; your life is about to change for the better."

"I'll try to contain my joy." Zuko replied sarcastically before he stormed out.

He leaned against the tea shop outside. Sakura told him any time he feels like he's going to blow a fuse it's best to get out of any crowded spaces.

He took a deep breath.

Was this really all there was for him? He wasn't satisfied living like this. He was the prince of the Fire Nation; that was his birth right! Not this! He's only been enduring it because he had no other choice. He had failed and wasted his chances to capture the avatar and this is why he was here now. He was reduced to nothing.

'There is no hope'

Just then something fell from the sky and into Zuko's line of sight; he caught the piece of paper and started at the inks inscriptions on it.

The avatar's Bison starring back at him-missing it said?

" _Even if it seems like stopping will make you fall short of your goals; you may just be reaching the half way point."_

Zuko felt something stir in him-the familiar fire that fuelled him was begging to burn once again; the avatar was here-in Ba Sing Se. He was searching for his Bison and unaware that Zuko was in the city as well.

If this wasn't considered a sign he didn't know what was.

* * *

"Wow we must've covered half of the upper ring in Appa posters." Sakura said stretching like a cat and looking over at the rest of her friends. Toph was throwing a ball against the wall and catching it; Sakura found that Toph could sense the vibrations which told her where an object was. Katara and Sokka were playing a type of card game.

"Good thing we've got you to reach high places." Toph said

Just then Aang came in "I've finished dropping off the leaflets has anyone come in with news about Appa?"

'Boy he really is impatient' Sakura thought

"It's only been a day just be patient." Katara said dismissively

Sakura nodded "Yeah it's not like we should expect for someone to come in-

There was a knock at the door.

Sakura slumped back "Eh what do I know?"

"Wow you're right patience really does pay off!" Aang said rushing to the door but when he opened he knew that it was not someone to talk to him about Appa.

"Joo Dee!?"

"Hello Aang and Katara and Sakura and Sokka and Toph" she said with that same straight smile  
"What happened to you?" Sokka asked as they all began to gather in front of her "Did the Dai Li throw you in jail?"

"What Jail? Of course not; the Dai Li are the protectors of our cultural heritage." Joo Dee said

"Oh yea; they're like this cities one state police force." Sakura muttered with folded arms

"But you disappeared at the earth king's party." Toph said

"Oh I simply took a short vacation to Lake Laogai out in the country; it was quite relaxing." She answered

"But then they replaced you with some other women who also said her name was Joo Dee" Katara said

Joo Dee gestured to herself "I'm Joo Dee."

Sakura raised an eyebrow; there was more going on than she thought...

"Why are you here?" Aang asked

"Dropping flyers and putting up posters isn't permitted in the city; not without proper clearance." Joo Dee explained

"We can't wait around to get permission for everything." Sokka said

Joo Dee spoke with a wide smile "You are absolutely forbidden by the rules of the city to continue putting up posters."

And then the group saw something they barely see-Aang losing his temper.

"WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THE RULES AND WE'RE NOT ASKING PERMISSION; WE'RE FINDING APPA ON OUR OWN AND YOU CAN JUST STAY OUT OF OUR WAY" he screamed before slamming the door in Joo Dee's face.

Sakura stared in amazement and then grinned "HELL YEAH"

"That's probably gonna come back to bite us in the blubber" Sokka said; his arms crossed over his chest

"I don't care; from now on we do whatever it takes to find Aapa." Aang said as his face turned back to the normal pale colour.

"Yeah let's break some rules!" Toph exclaimed before earth bending a giant hole into the side of their house.

"Break rules Toph not the house!" Sakura said

"Sorry...it's this city it's driving me crazy!"

They walked out of the house but Sakura's eye caught sight of the Dai Li agents watching them. Long Feng clearly wasn't kidding when he said that they would be watching the group.

* * *

Zuko walked into the apartment where he saw his uncle already begging to pack what little they had. He had accepted the offer for a tea shop in the upper ring.

However Zuko was about to surprise him with news of his own

"So I was thinking about names for my new tea shop; how about the Jasmine Dragon? It's dramatic; poetic; has a nice ring to it."

Zuko took out the flyer he had stashed in his robe and showed it to his uncle "The avatar's here in Ba Sing Se and he's lost his Bison."

Iroh took the flyer "We have a chance for a new life here; if you go stirring up trouble we could lose all the good things that are happening for us."

"Good things that are happening for you" Zuko countered "Have you ever thought that I want more for life than a nice apartment and a job serving tea?"

"There's nothing wrong with a life of peace and prosperity. I thought you were begging to see that-what with you and Sakura...I suggest you think about what it is that you want from your life and why."

Zuko turned to look out the window "I want my destiny."

"What that means is up to you."

Zuko clenched his fists; was his uncle right?

* * *

"Is this alright Aang?" Sakura called from above a building she was standing on; vertically!

"Perfect!" Aang shouted

The group had gone back to putting up posters now and were covering the middle ring; Sakura getting the hard to reach places with Aang while the others covered the buildings and walls down below.

"We should split up to cover more ground." Sokka said before looking at Toph "Toph; I guess you should just come with me."

The blind earthbender frowned "Why because you think I can't put up posters on my own!?"

In a fit she grabbed one of the posters; stroked the brush of glue across the wall and slammed it down however there was one problem...

"It's upside down isn't it?" Toph asked

"Not exactly..." Sakura said looking at the back of the power that was showing instead o the front with the information on "Though close enough..."

"I'll just go with Sokka." She said before following after the water tribe boy.

* * *

Sakura and Katara decided to team up to cover the area; they put up posters all around the centre of the middle ring town.

"So how are things going with you and your boyfriend?" Katara asked

Sakura blushed "Things are going alright...although-

"What is it?"

"Well-yesterday we were talking and he seemed different." Sakura said

Katara turned to her friend in concern "What do you mean? Did he do something?"

Holding up her hands she shook her head "No; no! He was just...I don't know. I got this weird feeling from him."

"What were you guys talking about?" Katara asked

"Just about dealing with situations." Sakura said "I've always noticed this but it still bothers me; it's like sometimes he doesn't seem to have much hope for the world."

Katara smiled "Well that's kind of understandable; I mean look we're in a war right now. Some people will struggle to hold on to hope."

Sakura nodded "I guess you're right; it's just I feel like it's something more than that. I don't really know that much about him and he doesn't really know that much about me either."

"Well fitting in a story about how you're from another world might be hard for him to swallow over dinner."

Sakura giggled "Yeah that's true."

"And besides you've been dating this guy for a month now; I don't think it's that rushed." Katara said

"I've had a crush on a boy from when I was six all the way up to my teenage years." Sakura said blankly "So a month seems pretty rushed to me. Especially considering the way we got together was through a forced fake date."

"So why are you doing it?" Katara asked

Sakura shrugged "I don't know...there's just something about him I guess."

"Well in my opinion boys are over rated" Katara said as she started to paste on one of the posters.

"How did you handle situations like this with your boyfriend?" Sakura asked suddenly

The water bender almost fell over and started to get a little nervous "I...um I never had a boyfriend."

"Oh..." Sakura trailed with a curious look "Sorry; I just figured you would for some reason-you're so beautiful and kind."

Katara blushed; flattered "Thank you."

"So you've literally never had any form of romance with anyone?" Sakura couldn't help but ask

"Nope" Katara answered with a broad smile before returning to the poster. "In my village my brother and I were the only ones our age; all the men had gone to fight and when I left home all that we've done is travel from place to place never staying too long."

Sakura nodded "So not even like a fling or something?"

Katara shook her head in denial "No way."

Just then they heard a voice.

"Katara"

The two girls spun around and Sakura saw a boy round about their age with hair and eyes that were both dark brown; he was wearing baggy dark pants; a red shirt robe. He looked at Katara with familiarity.

"I think I can help you," he said with a slight smirk

Sakura saw her water bending friend looking at the boy in shock and with a blush on her face.

"What was that you said about never having a boyfriend?" Sakura asked curiously

Katara didn't answer and instead began to water bend sending it right at the boy. Sakura gaped at her-Katara didn't come off as the aggressive kind and here she literally just water bended a guy into a corner alley.

"Katara I've changed!" he cried as she sent him flying

Sakura and Katara rushed over to where he landed.

"Tell it to some other girl Jet!" Katara hissed while sending shards of ice at him.

Sakura winced as she watched the boy avoid getting hit.

"Damn." She said "Did he dump over mail or something?"

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Me thinks the defensive tone says otherwise." Sakura responded

Jet held up his weapons "I'm not here to fight you; I'm here to help" he said before throwing down his weapons.

Katara looked at him and Sakura thought that the worst was over-until Katara aimed a bunch of shards at him pinning him to the wall.

"Oooh..." Sakura winced again; she actually felt sorry for the guy.

Then Aang; Sokka and Toph came running up to them "Katara what is it?" asked Sokka

"Jet's back" she said glaring at the boy

"Anyone care to explain what happened?" asked Aang

"Well this guy showed up-talked to Katara-she attacked him after he spoke seven words-then she pinned him to a wall with ice." Sakura said "Although I think she was aiming mostly for his head."

"Oh that sums it up" Sokka said

"We can't trust anything Jet says!" Katara said

"We don't even know why he's here" said Sokka

"Whatever the reason is it can't be good!"

"I'm here to help you find Appa!" Jet said showing them the flyer in his hand

Everyone looked back at Katara.

"We have to give him a chance." Aang said gently

"I swear I've changed." Jet swore "I was a troubled person and I let my anger get out of control but I don't even have the gang anymore. I've put all that behind me"

"You're lying!" Katara hissed

Toph wordlessly walked towards Jet and put her hand on the wall Jet was currently attached to. "He's not lying"

"How can you tell?" Sakura asked

"I can feel his heart beat and breathing; when people lie there's a physical reaction." Toph explained

Everyone turned back to Katara

"Katara we don't have any leads; if Jet says he can take us to Appa we have to check it out." Aang said

Katara sighed in defeat "Alright" then she turned to Jet and gave him a hard glare "But we're not letting you out of our sight!"

* * *

Sakura discovered that the guys name was Jet and he was once part of a group called the Freedom Fighters who fought against the Fire Nation and saved Sokka; Aang and Katara in their earlier journey. She was told though that Jet had such a great hatred for the Fire Nation that he was willing to wipe out an entire colonised village to get rid of them but the group had stopped them and then they left. Sokka also quietly added to Sakura alone that Katara and Jet sort of had a thing going before.

'That explains...well that reaction'

Jet took them to a huge store house where he heard some people talking about a giant furry creature but when the group got there; all they found was nothing.

"If this is a trap" Katara warned

"I told you I work nearby; two guys were talking about this giant furry creature they had a figured it must be Aapa."

"He was here" Toph said picking up a white batch of fur.

Everyone ran over to Toph to take a look; Aang took the fur and rubbed it longingly "We missed him."

"They took that big thing yesterday" the janitor said coming in with a broom "Shipped him out to some island; about time. I've been cleaning up fur and...Various leavings all day."

Aang leapt in hoped "What island?"

"Forman said some rich royal type on Whale Tail Island bought him up."

"We've gotta get to Whale Tail Island" said Aang before realisation struck him "Where is that?"

Sokka had already gotten the map out to look but his face fell when he found it "Far; very far; it's near the South Pole almost all the way back home."

"Aang it'll take us weeks to get to the tip o f the earth kingdom and then we have to find a boat to get to the island." Katara said

"I don't care; we have a chance to find Appa we have to try."

Sakura nodded "You're right Aang; it's one of the reasons we came to the city...and since the other reason didn't work out."

They knew she was referring to having a meeting with the earth king.

"Let's get moving." Sokka said

"I'll come with you" Jet chimed

"We don't need you" Katara snapped

"Why won't you trust me?" Jet asked before leaving with the boys leaving Sakura; Toph and Katara behind

"Gee I wonder!"

"Was this guy your boyfriend or something?" asked Toph

Katara became flustered "What-no; of course not!"

Sakura smirked "Is she lying Toph?"

"Big time" The blind girl responded with a smile as they watched Katara storm off. The two girl's high fived one another behind Katara's back before following after her.

Realisation only dawned on Sakura at that moment that she would be leaving Ba Sing Se with everyone to go search for Appa; she hadn't even put into consideration until now that she'd also be leaving Li...but it's not like she was planning on staying in Ba Sing Se forever right? Yet why was she feeling so reluctant now?

'I have to tell him' she thought

 **There we go; things are going to get intense now. Hope you all liked it.**

 **Don't forget to review!**


	8. What lies beneath the lake

The plan was set, everyone was more than ready-mostly everybody was ready to leave Ba Sing Se. A city they considered to have caused nothing but trouble for them and were just a plain pain in the butt. Honestly the entire gang was relieved; though Sakura wasn't really masking her 'joy' to be leaving. She wasn't exactly thinking that she would be making a life for herself in Ba Sing Se that was certain but the fact that she had to just drop everything and leave like this was what was making it hard. Ba Sing Se had been a bit kinder to her than to the others but even so she would still choose her friends because if it wasn't for them then she would've probably still been lost in the desert al alone.

"We can take the train out to the wall but then we'll have to walk." Sokka said as they made their way through the streets.

"Don't worry; on the way back we'll be flying" Aang said happily

"We're finally leaving Ba Sing Se-Worst city ever!" Toph exclaimed

Sakura remained silent as they continued walking; and then Katara turned around to face her.

"Sakura what about your boyfriend?"

"Huh?"

"Oh yeah," Sokka said "What are you going to do about him?"

Sakura simply smiled pushing down the aching feeling in her chest; she always use to be the one to be her needs before others but this time it was going to be different; she wanted to do what was right for her friends not only her. "Guys we have to come back here anyway; don't worry about it."

Before anyone could say another word someone called out Jet's name making them turn around to see two figures running up to them. One was a boy with dark hair and carrying a bow and arrow with him, the other was a girl that looked a lot like a boy she had short brown hair with red stripes painted across her cheeks."

"JET" the girl called rushing over to them

"I thought you said you didn't have your gang anymore?" Katara asked frowning

"Wait who are they?" Sakura asked

Aang pointed to the two people running over to them "The one with the bow is Long shot and the other is Smellerbee."

The girl ran up to Jet and hugged him "We were so worried; how did you get away from the Dai Li?"

"THE DAI LI" Sakura and Katara yelled

"I don't know what she's talking about!" Jet argued

"He got arrested by the Dai Li a couple of weeks ago." Smellerbee explained "We saw them drag him away."

"Why would I be arrested? I've been living peacefully in the city" Jet said placing a hand on his hip

Toph went in between the two and placed her hand on the ground frowning "This doesn't make any sense, they're both telling the truth."

"That's impossible." Katara said

"No it's not; Toph can't tell who's lying because they both 'think' they're telling the truth. Jet's been brainwashed!"

Jet shook his head "That's crazy it can't be!" he then glanced around at everyone who was surrounding him cautiously "Stay away from me!"

* * *

Later at night the group was gathered in a small apartment that belonged to Jet and his gang. They had Jet restrained by tying him up to a chair where they were now going to question him.

"Was the rope necessary?" Aang asked Sakura who shrugged in response

"He was putting up a fight."

"The Dai Li must've sent Jet to mislead us and that janitor was part of their plot to." Katara said

"I bet they have Appa here in the city, maybe he's in the same place they took Jet." Aang said looking down at Jet "Where did they take you?"

"Nowhere" Jet replied "I don't know what you're talking about."

"We need to find a way to jog his real memories." Aang said in thought

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows "Doing something that would bring back strong memories."

"So Katara could kiss him that should bring something back." Sokka said smiling

Katara frowned at her brother, placing her hands on her hips "Maybe you should kiss him Sokka."

"Hey just an idea."

"A bad one," commented Aang jealously

"Strong memories, not wishful thinking guys," Sakura said

Sokka gasped and went over to the mattress pulling out a straw before stuffing it in Jet's mouth, Sakura wasn't sure how that was expected to jog any memories but even Jet said it wasn't working.

Sakura decided to speak up "Memories tend to resurface when familiar feelings are produced; it's like the saying goes you can forget the memory but never the feelings."

"So he has to try and remember something else that triggers his emotions." Toph said

"The fire Nation" said Smellerbee "Remember what they did to your family."

Jet closed his eyes and pictured it but he stopped "I can't it's too painful!"

Katara walked behind Jet "May this'll help."

She then proceeded to use her healing ability to attempt to revert the damage done to Jet's mind. Sure enough it was working because Jet was beginning to see the past that was locked away in his mind.

"They took me to a headquarters under the water." Jet told them "Like a lake."

"Wait!" Sokka said "Remember what Joo Dee said?"

"She said she went to Lake Laogai!"

"That's it!" Jet said "Lake Laogai."

* * *

The next day early that morning the eight found themselves at a large lake outside of the city; it was completely deserted and in Sakura's opinion the perfect place to have a secret headquarters where no one would find you. It had an eerie feeling.

"So where's this secret head quarters?" Katara asked

"Under the water I think." Jet said scratching his head.

Toph pointed to the side "There's a tunnel right there near the shore."

They followed Toph to the end of the lake and she bent out a secret passage way that lead deep underground. Momo-not liking the idea of being underground most likely flew off.

"Ladies first." Sokka said gesturing to the ladder

"And children last." Sakura shot back

* * *

Everyone climbed down the ladder and started to make their way through the secret underground layer. It was much bigger than they pictured it would be. With various rooms carved of stone; small green lights shining along but it was dim so it gave the place an ominous vibe. They passed many rooms-some of which they discovered the brain washing being done but didn't enter. There were Dai Li agents walking around the tunnels as well but everyone decided it was better to try and avoid confrontation as it would only delay them.

"I think there might be a cell that's big enough to hold Appa up ahead." Jet said in a soft voice

They reached the door "I think it's through here."

Little did they know that they were not the only ones in this secret headquarters with the same purpose yet different intentions.

* * *

The sky Bison Appa lay in a huge cell, chains wrapped around his six feet. The door to his prison opened and he stood up before letting out a threatening growl at a figure, dressed in black and wearing a blue dragon mask.

This was Zuko, after threatening a Dai Li agent for information on the bison's whereabouts and discovering the truth about Lake Laogai, he took it upon himself to go there, steal Appa and then use him to lure in the avatar. He had made his decision. He believed that this was finally his window of opportunity to end his suffering.

"Expecting someone else?" Zuko asked behind his mask; he walked in drawing one of his twin blades.

* * *

As they entered the room they saw that while the cell was big there was no sign of Appa; but there were of Dai Li agents hanging up on the ceiling with chains dangling. And there were many of them as well.

"Now that's something different." Sokka commented

"CRAP" Sakura and the others turned to leave but the door slammed shut.

Long Feng appeared with his agents beside him "You have made yourselves enemies of the state. Take them into custody."

Everyone drew out their weapons and prepared to fight. As the Dai Li started attacking with full force everyone attacked with just as much force. Toph competing with the Dai Li earth bending; Aang airbending; Katara waterbending while Sakura; Sokka; Jet; Smellerbee and Long shot used their weapons-well if Sakura's fists counted as a weapon.

The teens were all watching one another's backs as well as their own; when one was in trouble the other closest would help them from being injured or captured. It continued like this for a while. Sakura used her super strength to smash up the earth benders creations but the group was going in an endless cycle that needed to stop.

Then they saw Long Feng making his escape through another door.

"He's getting away" Aang said chasing after him with Jet.

"Wait don't go alone!" Katara said but they were already gone and the others were occupied with Dai Li agents.

"EVERYONE GET BEHIND ME." Sakura ordered them; her friends gathered behind her like she ordered.

"What are you going to do?" Toph asked as Dai Li agents closed in from everyone direction.

"This." Sakura said pumping her fist full of chakra and drawing back; she let out a cry before smashing her fist into the ground destroying the entire area and sending the Dai Li agents back.

* * *

"Alright avatar you've caused me enough problems, this is your last chance if you want your bison back."

Aang scowled at him "You do you have Aapa! Tell me where he is!"

Long Feng remained calm as he spoke "Agree to exit the city now and I'll wave all charges against you and allow you to leave with your lost pet."

Jet stepped forward "You're in no position to bargain!"

"Am I not?"

"YOU'RE DEFINATELY NOT." Aang said holding up his staff

Long Feng looked over at Jet "Jet, the earth king has invited you to Lake Laogai."

Jet's fell silent for a second, his pupils became wide as he fell back under the hypnosis speaking in a blank voice "I am honoured to accept his invitation."

Then he went to attack...Aang.

Appa struggled against his chains to fight off the intruder but it was no use, it was no use a month ago and it was no use now. He stomped his feet in a threatening manner but Zuko-disguise as the Bleu Spirit didn't waver.

* * *

"You're mine now."

However just after those words were spoken the door behind him opened again and he got ready to attack but when he saw his uncle standing there Zuko felt more like a child caught disobeying rather than a powerful prince on the verge of redeeming himself.

"Uncle?"

Iroh looked at him with feigned curiosity "So the blue spirit...I wonder who could be behind that mask?"

Sighing Zuko threw off the mask "What are you doing here?"

"I was just about to ask you the same question." Iroh said "What do you plan to do now that you've found the avatars bison? Keep it locked in our new apartment? Should I go put on a pot of tea for him?"

"First I have to get it out of here." Zuko said nonchalantly which only seemed to set Iroh off.

"AND THEN WHAT?" he screamed uncharacteristically "You never think these things through! This is exactly what happened when you captured the avatar at the North Pole! You had him and then you had nowhere to go!"

"I would've figured something out!"

"No!" Iroh snapped "If he's friends hadn't found you, you would've frozen to death!"

"I know my own destiny uncle!" Zuko argued

"Is it your own destiny? Or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you?"

Zuko turned away from him "Stop it uncle, I have to do this!"

"I'm begging you prince Zuko! It's time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you? And what do you want?"

"ARGH"

With an angry shout Zuko threw down his blades one after the other and then his mask. His final decision...finally he believed was made.

* * *

"Jet it's me Aang; you don't have to do this!" Aang shouted trying to break Jet free from his trance but the young man continued attacking the avatar with no signs of stopping.

"I'm afraid he no longer has a choice." Long Feng said

Aang avoided another attack from him and then spoke "Jet, I'm you friend! Look inside your heart!"

"Do you duty Jet!" Long Feng ordered

Jet was breathing heavily as he came towards Aang-weapons ready in hand.

"He can't make you do this! You're a Freedom Fighter!"

At the exclamation something within Jet was triggered and all of his memories began returning; his eyes returned to normal.

He was back.

"Do it! Do it now!" Long Feng ordered but Jet turned around and went to attack him; throwing one of his weapons at him but Long Feng avoided it and use earthbending-which struck a fatal blow.

Aang ignored Long Feng who made his escape as he rushed over to Jet.

"I'm sorry Aang." Jet said

"Don't be."

When everyone arrived Long Feng was gone and Jet was severely injured; Katara rushed over to tend to him. She water bended the water onto her hands which then began to glow and placed it on Jet but she still appeared worried.

"This isn't good."

"You guys go and find Appa; we'll take care of Jet." Smellerbee said

"We're not gonna leave you!" Katara said

"There's no time." Long shot suddenly spoke surprising everyone "Just go, well take care of him. He's our leader."

"Don't worry Katara." Jet said looking at her and giving a reassuring smile "I'll be fine."

"Let me try." Sakura said placing her hand over his chest; she could feel that his organs were ruptured and there was internal bleeding. She swallowed.

"Is there anything we can do?" Katara asked

Sakura looked up at them "No, but there may be something I can do. You go on ahead; I'll catch up as soon as I can."

"But-

"There isn't time." Sakura said "Not if you want to save Appa,"

"Alright," Aang said before running out along with Sokka, Toph and Katara

Leaving Sakura to tend to Jet while Long shot guarded the other door and Smellerbee sobbed.

"You know..." Sakura said softly to Jet "It's not nice to lie."

"There's nothing more to do..." Jet said

Sakura's eyes hardened "You only think that, because you haven't met a trained medic yet."

* * *

Eventually after some more searching Aang, Katara, Sokka and Toph found another room where Appa had obviously been in after seeing the patches of white fur and large chains big enough to hold only him however there was no sign of Aapa.

"He's gone, Long Feng beat us here." Aang said sadly

"If we keep moving maybe we can catch up with them." Sokka said before running out with everyone else.

* * *

They ran for the surface and managed to make it back on land however they were being chased by Dai Li agents that had been alerted of their presence and were coming at them quickly from behind.

"You think we can outrun them?" Sokka asked

"I don't think it's going to matter" Aang said

He was right though because in front of them Long Feng was waiting with the rest of the Dai Li. They created a wall to stop them from going forward and then more came and created another wall blocking them from behind. However just then Momo came flying down; landing on Aang's shoulder.

"What is it Momo?"

The lemur flew up toward the sun and then from the sky out of nowhere appeared a giant shadow that turned out to be Appa charging towards them.

"APPA" Aang cried happily

The sky bison took down the Dai Li's walls that they made around the group; not giving a care to the agents that fell with the rubble. After that he landed right in front of Long Feng and let out an angry snarl.

Long Feng took a stance "I can take care of you myself."

However when he went to attack Appa; the bison grabbed him in his mouth and then threw him across the river watching his skip like a stone three times before sinking.

Everyone ran up to Appa in joy; hugging the fury creature.

"Appa!"

"I missed you buddy..." Aang said with tears in his eyes

"Guys!" Sakura called rushing over to her friends; she looked at all the rubble and the giant sky bison they were currently all snuggling.

"Wow...he's bigger than I thought..." Sakura trailed panting softly

"Sakura!" everyone exclaimed

Appa looked at the pinkette with suspicious eyes but then Aang stroked him "its okay buddy, this is just another friend."

Appa came up to Sakura who gave a nervous wave to the creature "Um hi..."

Appa responded by licking the pinkette with his large tongue covering her entire body in saliva. Sakura shivered.

"Ack, this is so gross!" Sakura cried

Everyone laughed as the pinkette rushed to jump into the lake.

* * *

After that they decided to head off before the Dai Li returned for another round; they were all on Aapa now travelling down the river in silence.

"Sakura..." Katara trailed looking at the pinkette. "Jet..."

She smiled "He's fine now"

The pinkette looked down at her hands that was twitching slightly "Took a lot out of me but...He's going to be fine."

Tears of relief streamed down Katara's face before, Aang placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her in along with everyone else for a group hug.

Things were finally looking up, but their journey was far from over and while it may seem peaceful right now there were many more discoveries that would need to be made and many more hardships to endure before anything would be settled. The walls of Ba Sing Se held much more than a single conspiracy and uncovering everything was going to be both difficult and painful for many reasons.

 **There you go everyone; I know that this chapter isn't as long as the others but I thought it was the perfect point to stop. I was going to kill Jet off but I thought; Sakura wouldn't take it lightly if I had allowed her to fail as a medic ninja for something like this. So yes, Jet's still alive. Anyway hope you look forward to the next chapter and enjoyed this one.**

 **Don't forget to review!**


	9. The earth king

**Hey everybody I've finally been able to finish this chapter, I hope you enjoy it.**

 **I DO NOT OWN AVATAR OR NARUTO.**

* * *

"Well what should we do now?" Sakura asked

After getting Appa back and escaping the Dai Li; the gang realised that there was still a few matters left untied. Like the earth king and informing him about the information they had on the fire nation not to mention Long Feng and the Dai Li agents. They weren't out of the woods yet but the real dilemma right now was the decision as to whether or not they wanted to tell the earth king anything or just leave

Sakura was petting Appa with Aang trying to get the huge bison use to her since she had only arrived in the group after his disappearance but he seemed rather friendly-according to Aang after he gave her the affectionate lick that had her jumping in the lake.

"I say we go to the earth king now and tell him our plan." Sokka said "We're on a roll here."

"Yeah; down a hill of trouble." Sakura commented turning around to face him

"Sakura's right" said Katara "One good hour after weeks of trouble isn't much a roll."

Toph raised her hand "I still say we should leave this place."

"We can build on it; if we want to invade the Fire Nation when the eclipse happens we need the earth kings support."

"What makes you think we'll get it?" asked Toph who was sitting on the ground "I don't know if you noticed but things don't usually go so smoothly for our little gang."

"I know but I've got a good feeling about this." Sokka said positively "This time will be different."

"Sokka Long Feng is in control of the city; his conspiracy with the Dai Li is too powerful I think we should just keep moving and get away from this awful place."

"I'm with sweetness" said Toph "I've seen enough of Ba Sing Se and I can't even see!"

Sakura sighed as she sat on top of Appa's head "I get that you would want to leave believe me I really do but we have to consider the fact that we're not the only one's involved in this situation anymore. Katara; we have to talk to the earth king to tell him or all of this would amount to nothing. Think about everything we've been through do you really want to stop here?"

Katara's face softened.

"She's right" Aang said going to them "Now that we've got Appa back there's nothing stopping us from telling the earth king the truth; about the conspiracy and the war."

Sokka threw his arms over Sakura and Aang "See they're with me; and it's three against two! We win! We have to try at least."

Katara looked like she was in thought placing her hand on her chin "Well I guess if the earth king knew the truth things could change."

Toph stood up with a frown "I don't like the new positive Sokka-LONG FENG BRAINWASHED YOU DIDN'T HE?"

Just then they spotted boats sailing on the river and concluded that it might be the Dai Li going to warn the earth king about them.

"We have to move now" Sakura said

* * *

On Appa the group sailed through the sky; Sakura enjoyed the feeling of the wind in her hair and she told Aang she could see why they would miss it. However Appa didn't have his saddle and Toph was very on edge because of it.

"CAN WE PLEASE BUY A NEW SADDLE RIDING BARE BACK IS TERRIFYING."

Sakura giggled and placed her arm over Toph in a comforting manner; she knew the tomboyish girl wasn't into that sort of thing but right now she wasn't complaining about having someone to grab her in case she slipped.

They saw the earth king's palace come into sight. Sokka told them that the earth kings chambers would most likely be in the centre.

"We have to be careful; Long Feng's probably already warned the earth king that we're coming." Katara said

"Why would you assume that; if you ask me I think we're gonna sail right-

Before Sokka could complete his sentence something came flying right at the group-a huge boulder with more coming at them.

"WHAT WERE YOU SAYING SOKKA" Sakura screamed angrily as she and Aang deflected the boulders with his bending.

As they started coming down Aang cleared the way of the soldiers that were gathered in the front.

"Yeah we're not making a very good impression." Sakura said wincing

They started running through the large area towards the palace but more guards came towards them. As they aimed their rocks at them; Aang; Sakura and Toph were in the front stopping the rocks while Katara used her water to create a whip that knocked them out of the way-while apologising of course.

* * *

They managed to make their way through all of the hundreds of guards and into the large palace.

"Now comes the hard part." Sakura panted

They were surrounded by more guards as they came to cross paths. Toph quickly immobilised them.

"Toph which way to the earth king?" asked Sokka

"How should I know; I'm still voting we leave Ba Sing Se!"

They started to search the palace while fending off the earth kings men but by far there was no sign of him. After all of the commotion they were looking at the large amount of damage they had done. Rubble lying around them.

Sokka then spotted a large door.

"Now that's am impressive door, that's gotta go somewhere"

Sokka rushed forth and attempted to kick it down and failed when Sakura came up behind him.

"Allow me."

Sakura kicked down the door with ease; it flew off its hinges and landed on the floor with a loud thud.

"Oops."

There they found themselves in what appeared to be the throne room; gold and green decorated the area; and in the middle surrounded by guards was a man finely dressed; he had dark eyes and wore glasses; the bear from the party was also there-the only assumption that could of been made was that this was the earth king Kuei.

Long Feng then appeared as well and so did the Dai li.

"We need to talk to you." Aang said weapon ready

"They're here to over throw you" Long Feng told the king pointing to the group accusingly

"No we're not we're on your side!" Sokka insisted

"You have to believe us." Katara begged

"You invade my palace; lay waste to all my guards; break down my fancy door and you expect me to trust you?"

Sakura let out a nervous laugh

"He has a point." Toph told them

"If you're on my side then drop your weapons and stand down." Kuei ordered

Everyone did as they were told in hopes to prove their word to be true but the minute they did the Dai Li restrained them with earth handcuffs. Though it was nothing they couldn't break out of however they chose to remain passive for the time being.

"Detain the assailants." Long Feng ordered

The Dai Li soon surrounded the group enclosing them.

"But we dropped our weapons; we're your allies" said Sokka

"Make sure the avatar and his friends never see the light of day again" said Long Feng however he hadn't realised his mistake in revealing this fact.

"The avatar? You're the avatar?" asked the king looking at Sokka

"No he is" Sokka said gesturing to Aang who waved his free hands as he earth bent the shackles.

"Over here."

"What does it matter your highness? They're enemies of the state." Said Long Feng

The earth king looked hesitant "Perhaps you're right."

Then his pet bear went up to Aang and gave him an affectionate lick on his face.

"Though Bosco seems to like him; I'll hear what he has to say."

Sakura sighed in relief, there may yet be hope.

Aang stepped forward and started explaining "Well sir there's a war going on right now for the past one hundred years in fact the Dai Li's kept it a secret from you; it's a conspiracy to control the city and you"

The earth king looked at him in disbelief "A secret war? That's crazy"

"Completely" agreed Long Feng which only made Sakura want to break out of the shackles and send him flying into next week but for the sake of her friends and their case she would hold back...for now.

"Long Feng didn't want us telling you about the war so he stole our sky bison to blackmail us and blackmail is the least of his crimes he brainwashed our friend!"

"All lies." Long Feng said "I've never even seen a sky bison your majesty; frankly I thought they were extinct."

The earth king sat back on the throne "Your claim is difficult to believe even from an avatar."

Long Feng went to whisper to the king "These hooligans are part of an anarchy cell that my agents have been tracking for weeks. If you listen to them you're playing right into your own destruction."

The earth king looked at them "I have to trust my advisor."

"Your advisor is playing you!" Sakura snapped "We can prove his lying"

"We can?" asked Sokka

Sakura gave him a look and then he got it "That's right! Long Feng says he's never seen a sky bison before right? As him to lift his robe,"

"What? I am not disrobing" said Long Feng

Aang smirked and blew a gust of wind that lifted his robe and showed the mark; he tried to cover up taht it was a birth mark but then they compared the mark on his foot with the mark on his leg and it showed they matched.

"Well that proves it" said Kuei

The group cheered, that was one point for them.

"But it doesn't prove this crazy conspiracy theory" stated the earth king.

"Aww." They all moaned slouching

"But I suppose these are matters worth looking into."

"We're cool with that." Sakura said while everyone else agreed

* * *

They decided to first show the earth king where all of the Dai Li's brainwashing took place; under Lake Laogai. They took the train there to which they discovered the earth king had never travelled by before even within his own city.

"So this is what a train is like. I didn't think it would be this public" he observed looking around at all the passengers starring at him and his guards surrounding him. He looked out of the window where Aang was flying with Aapa "Now that's the way to travel."

"So you've never been outside the upper ring before?" asked Katara

"I've never been outside the palace."

Sakura snickered "Now there's a shocker; though it explains a lot."

Katara frowned and scolded "Sakura."

The pinkette rolled her eyes "I'm just saying; where I come from our leader actually bothers to listen and help his people."

"That sounds rather odd." Kuei said though taking much offense to the statement.

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest "It's not; they know their people on a personal level; they work hard to ensure that they protect the lands they rule; they will sacrifice themselves for the sake of it and many of them have. When they die everyone mourns and it is genuine because they have lost someone dear to their hearts; it's as if you've lost a family member. Here all I've seen is royalty that hasn't given its regular citizens a second thought. You've never tried to get to know your people. You haven't tried to better their lives and only listen to the words of those who are announced to be at the same social standings of your own. Not of the words of those who truly need it; the ones suffering while you rule."

The earth king frowned "Now that is-

"When was the last time you've bothered to actually listen to your subjects and hear them?" Sakura asked cutting him off "They are the ones with their eyes wide open to the truth but too afraid thanks to the Dai Li. You were either too ignorant or lazy to think about your people."

Katara and Sokka winced before looking at each other. Sakura had openly expressed her discontent for the cities methods. The separation of the walls and the inequality that had clearly been shown to them when they had first arrived.

"Okay Sakura that's enough." Sokka said "We're trying to get him to hear us out here and you're not helping."

Sakura frowned "It's better to hear the truth now so that he will open his eyes."

* * *

They arrived at Lake Laogai to show the earth king the secret headquarters of the Dai Li but when Toph revealed the once secret passage way it was gone. Obviously the Dai Li had gotten there before them and this was not looking good for them as seen when Kuei had a frown on his face.  
"What the-that's okay still have my positive attitude." Sokka said

"Tell that to your face," Sakura muttered

"The Dai Li must've known we were coming and destroyed the evidence." Katara said

The earth king scoffed "That seems awfully convenient."

Sakura glared back at him, she didn't care if he was royalty. He was working on her last nerve.

"Hey if anything this proves the conspiracy exists even more!" Sokka said nodding to himself

"Long Feng was right; this was a waste of time. If you'll excuse me, I'm going back to the palace."

With that he turned away and began leaving with his many guards but when Sakura slammed her foot into the ground creating a crater he froze.

"Listen here, do you think we would have anything to gain by coming all the way to this lake saying there was a secret headquarters when there actually wasn't one making us look like fools?"

"Well there isn't one is there?" Kuei pointed out

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath and then something occurred to her, she turned back to everyone "The wall!"

It clicked instantly as they recalled the giant drill that was most likely still stuck in there.

"Oh yeah!" Aang said rushing over to the king "If you come with us to the outer wall, we can prove to you that the secret war is real."

"No earth king has ever been to the outer wall. I don't have any more time for this nonsense."

Sokka quickly cut in remembering something that the earth king had said when they were one the train "If you come with us...this time you can ride on Aapa."

* * *

Taking the bait the gang along with the earth king were holding on for dear life as they rode the sky bison feeling the strong wind blowing against them; because of the size there were only two guards with them as well.

"First time flying?" asked Toph, she was the only one lying down while she held on

"It's both thrilling and terrifying." Kuei said

"Yeah I hate it too." Toph told him

He then looked down "I have to be honest; part of me is hoping that what you're telling me about this war isn't true."

"I wish it wasn't." Aang said honestly

* * *

Finally they reached the outer wall and to their relief and joy the drill was still there, surrounded by a wall of earth surrounding it but still very obvious.

"What is that?"

Sokka stared at the contraption with a hard glare "It's a drill, a giant drill made by the Fire Nation to break through your walls."

Sakura leaned to the back on Appa starring at the sky "Now who's the fool?"

They landed on the outer wall to get a closer look; the earth king looked down at it and bowed his head in shame "I can't believe I never knew."

Then Long Feng and two Dai Li agents appeared on the wall as well "I can' explain this, this is nothing more than a construction project." Long Feng claimed, lying swiftly

Sakura scoffed and crossed her arms "They say those backed into a corner will take desperate moves in order to escape but I didn't expect a pathetic excuse like that to come from you."

Long Feng glared at Sakura "Shut your mouth girl! You will not poison the earth king's mind with your lies; this is a construction project nothing more."

"Then why is there a Fire Nation insignia on your construction project?" Katara asked placing her hand on her hips.

"Well it's imported of course; you know you can't trust domestic machinery." Long Feng said casually but a glance at the group and he could tell that everything was beginning to unravel.

"Surely you don't believe these children instead of your most loyal attendant?" Long Feng asked placing a hand on his chest

Kuei looked at the group who stared back at him with honest eyes, even Sakura. He frowned turning back to Long Feng "Dai Li arrest Long Feng; I want him to stand trial for crimes against the earth kingdom."

The Dai Li did as ordered but Sakura caught the glance between them before they shackled Long Feng and started dragging him away.

"You can't do this to me; you all need me more than you know!"

Sokka cheered raising his arms up in the air "Looks like Long Feng is long gone!"

"Hell yeah!" said Sakura high fiving Sokka

* * *

They returned to the palace; the sun had already set and they were now back in the throne room standing before Kuei.

"I want to thank you young heroes for opening my eyes" said the earth king "All this time from what I thought was a great metropolis was merely a city of fools and that makes me the king of fools." He covered his face "We're at war...with the fire nation."

"That's why we're here" said Sokka "We may have found a way to stop this war but we need your help."

Aang spoke then "We don't have much time, there's a commit coming this summer it's energy will give the fire benders unbelievable power; they'll be unstoppable."

"But there is hope." Sokka began "Before the commit comes we have a window of opportunity; a solar eclipse is coming. The sun will be entirely blocked out by the moon and the fire benders will be helpless."

"What are you suggesting Sokka?" the king asked

"That's the day we need to invade the Fire Nation. The day of black sun."

"I don't know that would require moving troops out of Ba Sing Se we're completely vulnerable" Kuei attempted to reason.

"And what do you call yourself now?" Sakura asked stepping closer "Wasn't the drill evidence enough that the Fire Nation will go through any means to bring down your city? If we hadn't stopped that drill you would've found out about this war in a very harsh manner. Now you have a chance to counter them before you are overpowered and you still hesitate to take it? The rest of the world's been doing their part in this war isn't time you-as a leader did yours?"

Sakura had heard more about the war from everyone; the earth kingdoms and water tribes banned together against the Fire Nation; the air nomads had been wiped out by them already in order to keep the avatar from interfering with the war but somehow Aang had managed to escape that fate.

Kuei looked like he was in thought before he nodded "Very well; you have my support."

Everyone broke out in grins and came in for a group hug before someone walked in; a man dressed in green armour with a goatee. He bowed to the king walking past the group.  
"You majesty, I apologise for the interruption."

King Kuei introduced him "This is general How, he's the leader of the council of five; my highest ranking generals."

"We searched Long Feng's office; I think we've found something that will interest everybody."

* * *

They moved to the earth king's office where the general presented a chest to them; he explained that there were secret files on everyone in Ba Sing Se including the gang. Sakura concluded that this was one of the methods the Dai Li used to stay in control of the city.

Toph was the first one to get a scroll on her. Katara read it out to her "It's a letter from your mom; she's here in the city and she wants to see you."

Toph gaped in disbelief "Long Feng intercepted our letters from home? That's just sad."

Sakura recalled the story about Toph having a very sheltered life because of her parents thinking she was too fragile and weak to do anything on account of her being blind. They even hid her from the world so much so that not a lot of people knew her parents had a daughter. Now that's what Sakura would call a child kept in cotton wool. It was no wonder she ran away at the chance to go on an adventure.

Then it was Aang's turn, the general explained that the scroll handed to him was attached to Aapa when the Dai LI captured it.

Aang gratefully took it and started reading "It's from the Eastern Air Temple."

Sakura didn't bother asking if there was a letter for her because who the heck was she going to receive a letter from? Katara and Sokka on the other hand...

"Is there a letter for me and Sokka?"

"No but there is an intelligence report that you might be interested in."

Katara read the scroll "A small fleet of water tribe ships,"

"What?" asked Sokka excited "That could be dad!"

"Protecting the mouth Chameleon Bay...lead by Hakoda! It is dad!"

It was obvious that they were going to have a lot of discussing now, so the earth king and general left them alone in the room to discuss amongst themselves what they were going to do next.

"There's a man living at the Eastern Air temple, he says he's a guru."

"What's a guru?" Sokka asked Aang

"A spiritual expert," Aang told him "He wants to help me take the next step in the avatar journey. He says he can teach me to control the avatar state."

Sakura smiled "That's great Aang."

Then Aang's eyes lit up like he's suddenly been struck with an idea "Yeah and he might be able to help you too!"

"Huh?" The pinkette looked at him confused, she was not expecting that

Aang shrugged "Well you wanted to find answers on how to get home right? A spiritual expert may be able to help."

Sakura raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms "Aang are you suggesting that it may have been something spiritual that brought me here?"

"It's possible," Aang said "I've been thinking about this, the avatar's the bridge between this world and the spirit world. So what was the bridge between this world and your world? What exactly brought you here?"

Katara seemed to be in thought now "It is a possibility; why not Sakura?"

Looking down at her hands Sakura muttered "I don't know..."

"What do you have to lose?" pointed Sokka "Just asking can't hurt."

"Yeah, you've been so busy helping us out that you haven't taken the time to search for answers." Toph said "This guru might be able to tell you how to get home."

Her heart fluttered in joy; to think that there was hope of her returning back home. It was true that she hadn't had much time to think about finding a way to return home, she was more focused on helping Aang and everyone else achieve their goals but now that they were achieved...

'Guess I'm leaving the city after all.'

"This is amazing..." Sakura muttered "I can't believe I might actually find a way to return home."

Katara looked down at the scroll in her hands "And I can't believe I know where our dad is now."

"I know what you mean," Toph said "My mom's in the city and from her letter it sounds like she finally understands me."

"This is all such big news, where do we even start?" asked Sokka

Katara looked down "I hate to say it but we have to split up."

Aang stood up from the carpet and looked at Katara shocked "Split up? We just found Appa and got the family back together, now you want us to separate?"

"You have to meet this guru Aang, if we're gonna invade the Fire Nation you need to be ready." Katara pointed out

Aang nodded "Well if I'm going to the Eastern Air temple, Appa and I can drop you off at Chameleon Bay to see your dad."

Sokka had a solemn expression on his face as he spoke "Someone has to stay with the earth king and plan for the invasion. I guess that's me."

Katara stopped him "No Sokka, I know how badly you wanna help dad, you go to Chameleon Bay. I'll stay here with the king."

Sokka had tears of joy in his eyes as he pranced up to Katara "You-are-the-nicest-sister-ever"

He gave her a kiss on her cheek when Katara pushed him back "Easy there big brother; though you're right I am."

"I guess we should get ready for tomorrow then," Aang said standing up as well followed by Toph and Sakura.

"We should probably stay at the palace since someone created a giant hole in the wall at our place." Sakura pointed out before everyone turned to Toph who simply grinned.

"I'm so glad I can't see your expressions."

* * *

Later that night after the rest of the gang decided to rest up for their journey tomorrow, Sakura went down to the lower ring of Ba Sing Se; since she was going to be leaving first thing in the morning there would be any time for her other than now.

'I at least want to say goodbye, just in case'

She came up to an old building and stood in front of one of the many apartment doors giving it a slight tap. Though it was late she could see that there was still light shining through the window. The door opened to a tired looking Iroh-known to Sakura as Mushi who was rubbing his eyes.

"Oh Sakura dear what brings you here so late?" he asked politely

Sakura bowed her head "I'm so sorry for coming here at this time of night but I was hoping to see Lee."

Iroh nodded "I'm actually glad you came, you see recently my nephew's fallen very ill."

Gasping in shock and worry Sakura asked "What, what happened? Is he alright? Does he-

"Slow down, he's currently resting and you're more than welcome to see him. I don't believe this illness in contagious but perhaps you could take a look at him?"

Nodding Sakura quickly stepped into the small apartment; she observed that there were a few boxes standing in the corner.

"Are you going somewhere?" she asked

"Oh just to the upper ring," Iroh told her, he explained that he had been offered his own tea shop recently and that they were going to move to the upper ring so that he could run it. After giving her congratulations, Sakura went to see Zuko.

There he was, lying under a blanket, covered in sweat, breathing heavily and looking like he was enduring a rather uncomfortable sleep. There was water and clothes beside him. Sakura filled with worry immediately went to inspect him. There were no signs of poison, and it seemed his uncle was right when he said it didn't appear to be a normal illness. While he had a bad fever and appeared sick, she couldn't detect any real abnormalities when she examined him with her chakra.

"What exactly is going on? As far as I can tell there's nothing physically wrong with him." Sakura said out loud, placing her hand on Zuko's forehead she began pumping chakra to relieve any kind of discomfort he may be feeling, though he still didn't wake up.

Iroh came in with a tray and two cups of tea before sitting down near Sakura. "A lot has happened to my nephew, he has had to endure a great struggle within him but recently-a critical decision seems to have pushed him over the edge."

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura; she continued to work on Zuko "Are you saying he's like this because of a decision he made?"

"It was not just any decision." Iroh told her carefully "Although I'm afraid I can't specify, I'm sure you've realised that he has been through so much and has created an image for himself in order to cope."

* * *

 _Sakura impatiently pulled on his arm dragging him through the city "Come on."_

 _Zuko looked around; they were all the way on the outside of the inner wall. Now the only barrier between them and nomads land was the outer wall of Ba Sing Se._

" _Are we even supposed to be here?" he asked her_

 _Sakura giggled "I don't know."_

" _What?"_

" _Come on"_

" _Where are we going anyway?" he asked her in an annoyed voice_

 _Sakura pouted "It's too stuffy inside those walls all the time. This is much better."_

 _She gestured to the wide open fields between the inner and outer wall._

" _Yes but if we get caught-_

" _We won't"_

 _She dragged him along until they reached a large area of grass with a big pond and then he spotted the picnic blanket and basket sitting near the edge of the water._

" _You planned this." He said_

" _Big time." Sakura grinned dragging him down towards their destination_

 _The two sat in silence; Zuko was having one of those days where he didn't want to be bothered by anyone. Yet Sakura insisted on showing up and pulling him out on his one day off to this place._

" _Why are we here?" he asked in that same agitated tone._

" _You're the one always complaining that it's cramped in the city." Sakura stated as she took a bite out of a piece of fruit._

" _When I said that I didn't think you were going to drag me out here as a result." Zuko snapped_

 _Sakura smiled at him; he didn't know why she always did that whenever he was just full of attitude with her she wouldn't be deterred._

" _I figured it was a call for help." Sakura said_

" _It wasn't-_

" _Oooh look" Sakura called moving closer towards the water "What are those?"_

 _Zuko saw the creatures swimming towards him and narrowed his eyes "Turtle ducks..."_

 _Sakura smiled "Cool; I've never seen them before!"_

 _Sometimes he swore this girl was a freaking novice by the way she reacted to almost every little thing._

 _The pinkette started breaking apart her piece of bread and threw it towards the ducks. She watched as they ate it._

" _Wanna feed em to?" Sakura asked holding up a piece of bread_

 _Zuko turned his head sharply "No"_

" _Are you sure; it's really-_

" _I SAID NO ALRIGHT; WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?" he snapped slapping the piece of bread out of her hand making it land on the mud._

 _Sakura looked at the piece of bread with slightly wide eyes._

 _Zuko realised only seconds later what he had done and made an attempt to apologise but before he could get a word out Sakura spoke._

 _She turned to him with a smile "That's okay. You wanna go back now?"_

 _He stared at her slightly shocked; he knew for a fact that this girl had a huge temper yet over the time they've been spending together she seemed to have become more...passive? At least towards him._

" _I..._

" _Come on" Sakura said grasping his hand in hers and walking their way back to the wall. The smile never leaving her face._

" _Why do you always do that?" Zuko asked_

 _She looked up at him "Huh?"_

" _You're always doing that." He said "Whenever I get angry; you just smile and shake it off."_

 _Sakura smiled wider "How are you feeling?"_

" _Huh?" was his turn to ask_

" _You always look so frustrated and upset because you're holding back all of your feelings all the time; it's not fair." Sakura murmured softly "If you do that all the time eventually you'll end up exploding. I think it's better for you to just let them out."_

 _Let them out?_

 _How could he do that?_

 _He wanted to let out his anger for sure but that usually came with a result of firebending which he couldn't do._

 _Then it hit him "Wait so did you bring me here just so that I would yell at you?"_

 _Sakura giggled "Well you don't seem to like making a scene in public but holding in your anger isn't exactly a good thing either. So I brought you out here for you to let out your frustrations. Maybe kick a few rocks and such."_

 _Zuko stared at her shocked while she continued to smile "I don't mind if you yell at me because you're upset about something else. After all you'll feel a lot better."_

" _And you just don't care what I say?" Zuko asked_

" _Words in rage usually aren't true and I don't care if you yell at me when you're like this because I know how difficult it can be to have to hold things in all the time." Sakura said calmly as she started swaying their intertwined hands. "Besides I took you out here so that you would be able to get your frustrations out; you feel better now right?"_

 _Zuko squeezed her hand; this girl was really something else he couldn't help thinking._

" _Yeah..."_

" _Though next time when you feed turtle ducks can you try giving the bread to them a little more gentler?" she giggled_

* * *

Sakura could see for a while now, that this boy had a scar that ran far deeper than the one on his face. He seemed to struggle with everything even when he thought he didn't show it. He looked at the world like it was against him, what could've possibly happened to make him feel that way was a question Sakura never got an answer to.

Zuko's eyes fluttered open and he was stunned to see a pink blur in front of him; in an instant he knew who it was.

"Sakura..."

Removing her hands Sakura sighed wiping the sweat from her forehead before smiling down at Zuko "Hey, how are you feeling?"

Zuko groaned trying to sit up, Iroh and Sakura immediately told him not to but he ignored them until he was upright, the blanket fell from his chest forcing Sakura not to stare. She quickly grabbed the cup of tea that was offered to her earlier and took a large sip; she felt like she was coming down with a fever.

"I've been better," he replied

Iroh stood up "I'm going to leave you kids to chat for a bit,"

"Thank you," Sakura said watching as the kind old man left.

Turning back to Zuko she saw him starring at her causing her to blush "What?"

"I thought I was hallucinating you being here," he explained calmly before glancing at the window and saw that it was night "What are you doing here this time of night?"

"I...I wanted to see you because I need to tell you something," she started slowly

Zuko narrowed his eyes, slight worry visible "What is it?"

"Well, something's happened and I'm not going to be here for a little while." Sakura started starring at her hands nervously "I-I'm leaving the city with a friend and I'm not too sure how long I'm going to be gone for. I'm leaving first thing in the morning."

Zuko felt something inside of him twist painfully but he did his best not to show any emotions.

"You're leaving?"

Sakura nodded before reaching out and taking one of Zuko's hands in both of hers; he didn't look her in the eye though. There was always something about the way Sakura looked at him that stirred something within him, he couldn't place whether it was understanding or pity but he didn't quite like it. It was as if he made her tread on egg shells around him.

"Yes, I didn't want to just leave without saying anything so..."

Sakura wasn't sure what else to say other than that. It wasn't as if she was expecting anything from him by telling him this but she did feel that it wouldn't be right of her to just pick up and vanish without a trace leaving him wondering where she was.

"When are you coming back?" Zuko asked suddenly snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I'm not sure," Sakura said "My friends all have something they need to do so we're splitting up for the time being but we defiantly have to return at some point."

Zuko clutched her hand tightly "So, you'll be back?"

"Yes,"

Suddenly Zuko broke out into a coughing fit which caused him to let go of Sakura's hand, while she went to hand him some water after that she gently pushed him back down and covered him with the blanket.

"You need to rest okay?" Sakura said rubbing his head soothingly before standing up "I need to go-

Zuko caught her wrist before she was all the way up and pulled her down enveloping her in a warm hug. "Bye, I'll see you soon."

With a bright smile she returned the embrace nodding her head "Yeah..."

 **There you have it, hope you liked it and are looking forward to the next chapter where everything will begin to unravel.**

 **Don't forget to review**


	10. The guru

**Hello readers, I was finally able to finish this chapter after staying up all night, I'm trying to update as many stories as possible before I start university, after that I'm not sure when I'm going to have the time to write and post. Anyway I hope you enjoy**

* * *

The next day everyone was gathered outside of the Earth kings palace preparing to take their leave. Toph would be going to visit her mother; Aang and Sakura would be going to one of the air temples to meet a guru that would help Aang master the avatar state and perhaps give Sakura some insight on how she can return home. Katara would be staying to help the earth king and generals strategise and plan for the upcoming invasion.

King Kuei came down to greet them "Aang, Sokka and Sakura, I wish you well on your trip. Ba Sing Se owes you its thanks and we look forward to your safe return."

Placing their hands together they bowed in respect to the king before resuming preparation for their journey. One of the earth kings guards came up to them and spoke.

"Your majesty, there are three female warriors here to see; they're form the island of Kyoshi."

"THAT'S SUKI." Sokka exclaimed before he tumbled down from on top of Appa.

"Smooth." Sakura said sarcastically as she held out her hand to help Sokka up.

"You know these warriors?"

"Oh yeah," Sokka said as he let Sakura pull him up "The Kyoshi warriors are a skilled group of fighters, trustworthy too they're good friends of ours."

Kuei nodded "Then we shall welcome them as honoured guests."

Aang, Sakura and Sokka prepared to climb Appa when Katara called Aang back; she pulled him into a hug before kissing him on the cheek. Sakura had been able to tell that Aang had strong feelings for Katara but it seemed that the water tribe girl was oblivious to it. How she felt about him though was another question all together.

"I'm really gonna miss you guys." Toph said suddenly

"Me too," Katara said

"Yeah." Aang added

The three came in for a hug before looking at Sakura "What about you?" asked Katara softly with sad eyes "If this guru knows how to send you back...this might be the last time-

"That we see you!" exclaimed Toph realisation kicking in only now

Sakura gave a small chuckle "Chances of that are pretty slim but still if that's the case...I'm really going to miss all of you too!"

Rushing over to them she joined them in the group hug before everyone turned to Sokka who seemed to uncomfortably be averting his eyes from the scene. Everyone then ran over to him for the hug Sokka let out a yelp of surprise.

"O-Okay that's enough..." he said patting Katara and Aang's heads "Okay we love each other...seriously."

* * *

Sakura watched as the walls of Ba Sing Se began to fade from view, she felt a painful tug at her heart as she realised that she really might not be coming back here. Everything she had been through these past few weeks, it might all be coming to an end...

'And I told him I would come back,'

While the chance was remote it was still worrisome. Sakura told herself that she shouldn't feel this way; she always kept in mind that one day she would return home but at the same time she didn't realise just how attached she had become to these people, to her friends. At the same time she felt guilty, guilty that she was this torn about returning home, to her friends.

'To Naruto...'

"See guys a little positive thinking works wonders, we've got the king on our side, we got Long Feng arrested and when we get back Suki's waiting for me."

Sakura rolled her eyes and playfully shoved Sokka before lying down on Appa beside him "Yeah you've got girls waiting for you thanks for the reminder positive attitude."

"Hey what about that guy you were going out with?" asked Aang curiously

Sakura blushed "Eh...H-He's...we-well..." taking a breath Sakura smiled "He said see you soon."

"Everything is going to work out great, from now on and forever." Sokka said happily

This caused Sakura to pull her face "Careful Sokka; don't want to tempt fate."

"Don't worry Sakura," Aang said "It'll be fine, just wait and see!"

Little did they know that back in Ba Sing Se there were different forces stirring.

* * *

Sometime later that day the three finally made it to Chameleon bay, they landed a little ways from the shore line where they were able to spot several boats and tents pitched, they knew they were at the right place.

Aang smiled at Sokka "You haven't seen your dad in two years, you must be so excited!"

"Yeah that's not what his face is saying Aang," Sakura pointed backing away from Sokka who looked like he was about to throw up clutching his stomach and holding a hand over his mouth.

"I know I should be but I just feel sick to my stomach."

"Don't be nervous, he's going to be so happy to see you." Aang reassured his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder which seemed to work because Sokka smiled.

"What about you? Are you nervous to meet this guru?" asked Sokka

"Not at all" Aang said with a glimmer of determination in his eyes "I'm ready to master the avatar state; I'll do whatever it takes!"

Sakura smiled 'That look on Aang's face, it reminds me of you Naruto.'

"And you Sakura?" Sokka asked suddenly turning to the pink haired girl

"Huh?"

"This guru might have to answer to returning you to your world, how are you feeling?"

Sakura's face held surprise that she was asked, she turned her to head "To be honest, I'm a little scared."

"Why; isn't this, what you wanted?" asked Aang

Sakura nodded "Yeah, but it feels kinda strange."

Sokka wrapped his arm around Sakura's shoulder in a friendly manner "Don't worry; everything will work out for the best!"

Though surprised Sakura couldn't help but smile and nod "Yeah!"

* * *

Sakura watched the sun as it began to dip further down the sky; the wind blew her hair around in all directions. They had been flying for a few hours now Sakura and Aang while on their journey began talking about many things, mostly answering questions that they haven't brought up yet with the rest of the group and it basically turned into a confession session.

One of the first questions was what exactly was the avatar state?

Aang explained to Sakura that it was a kind of defence mechanism that gave him the power, skills and knowledge of all the past avatars.

"So there can only be one avatar in each life cycle right?" Sakura asked

"Yes, all of my past lives focus their energy through my body in the avatar state. The previous avatar before me, he told me that in this state I was at my most powerful but also vulnerable."

"Vulnerable?" Sakura asked curiously "What does that mean?"

"If I'm killed in the avatar state, I won't be brought back. Avatars have a reincarnation cycle; it goes water, earth, fire, air and then repeats itself."

"So one day, when you're gone, the next avatar is going to be born as a waterbender right?"

Aang nodded starring ahead, his hands tightened on the reigns "That was the reason why the Fire Nation wiped out all of the air nomads because they knew that I was going to be born an air bender..."

"But you're still-

"I ran." Aang said sadly "I ran away from home...because I never wanted to be the avatar."

"Aang..." Sakura looked at him with saddened eyes

"My whole life changed after the monks told me I was the avatar, we're usually only told when we turn sixteen but...there were signs of trouble, I was warned that there might be a war. After everyone found out, things changed. My friends wouldn't play with me but it wasn't too bad thanks to Gyatso."

"Who was that?" Sakura asked

"He was my guardian, teacher and friend, he was like my father." Aang smiled as if recalling a happy memory but then his face turned grim

"Then one day I heard that I was going to be sent away to complete my training, even though Monk Gyatso was against it. After that...

"You ran." Sakura finished for him

Aang buried his face in his knees "I wound up frozen in a block of ice for a hundred years...and when I woke up the Fire Nation was at war with the rest of the world, everyone was convinced the avatar cycle was broken and it was all my fault."

Sakura wrapped her arms around Aang and rubbed his back "Aang it wasn't your fault, you were only a boy, it wasn't fair to have that much responsibility placed on you. Anyone would be overwhelmed! But you can't blame yourself for what happened in the past; that will only hold you back! The worst thing that happens to you may be the best thing for you, if you don't let it get the best of you."

Aang looked at Sakura with tear streaked eyes "Sakura, how do you know all this?"

She smiled "Because I've lived through it;" she looked out into the distance, she saw that there were several mountains coming into view and Aang looked as well.

"We're here."

* * *

After landing Appa on the mountain Sakura and Aang looked up a figure that was sitting crossed legged on one of rocks that had been carved to have spiral stairs. He was an elderly man, very skinny with dark skin and a long white beard.

"Um hello," Aang called as they jumped off of the bison "You're guru Pathik right, the person who attached the note to Aapa's horn?"

"Indeed," the monk replied opening his eyes to look at the two "I was a spiritual brother of you people and a close personal friend of Monk Gyatso"

"Um..." Sakura spoke up raising her hand a little "I'm sorry but my names Sakura and I-

"Oh I'm aware of who you are," Pathik said suddenly "I can sense your presence in this world is not natural therefore I know you are not from it."

Sakura and Aang gasped "Really?"

He nodded "Yes, and I know you are looking for a way to return. Why don't the two of you sit down?"

Sakura and Aang sat down in front of him "In your note, you said you could teach me to gain control of the avatar state, how?"

"You must gain balance within yourself before you can bring balance to the world." Pathik then turned to Sakura "As for you, the only way for you to return is to ask the spirit that brought you here for the way to return."  
"I was brought here by a spirit!?"

"Without a doubt, the spirit that brought you here has left a mark on you. You can use that mark to trace the spirit's location, once you do that you will need to first ask why the spirit brought you here before you ask them to tell you how to return."

Sakura's eyes were lit brightly with hope now "S-So there really is a way I can get home!"

"But I thought only the avatar could go between the two worlds?" Aang said "So how can Sakura do that?"

"It's because the spirit has left a mark on her that she will be allowed to enter the spirit world within her own mind; she is not like the people of this world so the rules are a little different in her case. In order for you to be able to travel to the spirit world however, you will need to undergo the same training as the avatar and achieve balance within yourself."

Sakura's eyes hardened as she sat up straighter "I'll do it!"

Nodding the guru held out two wooden bowls out to them "Good, now the first step to achieving balance is this, Drink up."

Taking the bowls Sakura and Aang glanced at one another before taking a huge gulp of the odd concoction but spat it out instantly.

"Argh!" Sakura stuck out her tongue pulling a sour face "What was that?"

"It tastes like onions and banana juice!" exclaimed Aang

"That's because it is." Pathik took a big gulp of his own bowl and rubbed his stomach "Yum, yum!"

Sakura covered her face with her hands 'Oh I have a bad feeling in my gut.'

* * *

As night fell, the air grew cold and a light mist blanket covered the area; the guru then said that it was time for them to begin their training. Aang and Sakura were taken further into the temple mountain to a creek with many pools flowing water into one another.

"In order to master the avatar state and achieve balance, you must open all the chakras. Aang tell me everything you know about chakras."

"What are chakras?" Aang asked rubbing his eyes tiredly

Pathik gave him a flat look "Oh...Sakura what about you?"

"Well, in my world." Sakura started "Chakra is the elemental life energy that people from my world use as our main source of power, it allows up to do things like walk on water, clone ourselves use and control fire, earth, water and air-kind of like bending elements. Chakra has two forms, physical energy which exists in all the cells in the entire body and spiritual energy, the primal source of power which is intensified through training, these two types of chakra must be drawn out and brought together in order to perform these different kinds of abilities; we use hand signs to focus and unleash our chakra. Some specific types of people have certain abilities unique only to them, they use chakra in order to use these abilities; it's like only a Fire bender can use the element of Fire and only a water bender can use the element water. There are also different types of chakras, earth, water, wind, lightning, fire."

Rubbing his beard Pathik listened intently "It seems that your world use chakra the same way that people in this world use chi"

Sakura nodded "I kind of figured that. Chakra is an energy that flows throughout our entire body, we have a chakra network to flow through us, there are what we call chakra gates that are at certain points in our body, hitting those points can either stop the flow of chakra or increase it. There are eight inner gates in the chakra network that are like limiters. There's the gate of opening, the gate of rest, the gate of life, the gate of pain, closing, of joy, of shock and the gate of death."

Aang looked like he was getting dizzy from listening to Sakura's explanation of chakra. "So that's chakra in your world, what is it in this one?"

"Similar though not as complex," Pathik said taking a stick and turning to the pools "The water flows through this creak much like the energy flows through your body, as you see there are several pools where the water swirls around before flowing on. These pools are like our chakras."

"So chakras are lie spiralling pools of energy in our body?" Aang asked

"Exactly," the guru confirmed

"Much less complicated than Sakura's explanation,"

Sakura puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms over her chest

"That is because the chakra in this world is different than the one in hers. If nothing else were around, this creak would flow pure and clear however life is messy and things tend fall in the creak and then what happens?"

"The energy can't flow." Sakura said

"Yes, much like those chakra gates you were talking about." Pathik said "If you open the pods between the pools..."

The guru used the stick to remove a piece of gathered moss from the opening of pool and watched as the water began to clear and flow to the next pool and the next.

"The energy flows!" Aang concluded, he then looked at Sakura "So in your world can you do that with your chakra gates?"

Sakura gave a nervous laugh "Yes but...there's a reason they're considered limiters, if we open up our chakra gates too wide and chakra flows throughout our body rapidly it can have dire results because it's more energy than our physical body can handle."

"Really, what's the worst that can happen?"

"Death,"

* * *

Guru Pathik took Aang and Sakura to a new location in the mountain, far in they were seated on a rock in a huge cave, Aang and Sakura sat down in front of the guru.

"There are seven chakras that go up the body, each pool of energy has a purpose and can be blocked by a specific kind of emotional muck. Be warned opening the chakra's is an intense experience and once you begin this process you cannot stop until all seven are open, are you two ready?"

Sakura nodded her head "Yes!"

"Sure..." Aang trailed a little nervously "Though I'm still kinda put off about that death comment Sakura made."  
Sakura rolled her eyes "That's only for the kind of chakra gates I have in my chakra network; it's not the same chakra we're talking about."

Aang took a breath "Okay...I'll do whatever it takes."

"First we will open the earth chakra, located at the base of the spine. It deals with survival and is blocked by fear, what are you most afraid of?"

Sakura and Aang closed their eyes, their hands resting on their knees with their forefinger and thumbs pressed together. They began to see everything that they were afraid of.

* * *

 _When Sakura opened her eyes she was no longer in the mountains but in a forest, a figure in the distance, a sinister laugh filled the air as the person revealed themselves; Sakura screamed and fell on her back as she looked into the pair of cold yellow snake like eyes of a pale skinned long haired man...Orochimaru. The trees around her began to morph into giant white snakes that slithered around her..._

" _NO GET AWAY"_

" _Sakura..." she heard a familiarly strong voice said and her head turned to the side with hope_

" _Sasuke!"_

 _She saw an onyx spikey haired boy with dark eyes looking at her but then one of the snakes began to wrap themselves around him and morph again into Orochimaru._

" _You're too late, SASUKE IS MINE NOW"_

" _NOOOOO"_

 _She felt like her heart was about to burst from her chest from fear but then she heard the voice._

" _Listen to me you two; your visions are not real. You are concerned for your survival but you must surrender your fears, let those fears flow down the creak._

 _Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath, this wasn't real, she told herself that over and over again._

" _This isn't real, it's not real..." She kept telling herself taking deep breaths "The snakes dead, he can't hurt him anymore, he's fine, he's fine, he's alive, he's alive,"_

* * *

With a final breath Sakura opened her eyes and found herself back in the mountain, she wiped the sweat off her forehead and sighed in relief before turning to Aang who looked very concerned for her.

"What is it?" Sakura asked

"Mm, you took a while to open that chakra." Pathik explained "It seems that you were more focused on you fear for someone else...rather than just yourself."

Sakura looked down at her hands "I am...someone important to me, someone who was taken and I've feared for his life every day until now."

"That's good; it means you have successfully opened your earth chakra."

* * *

When guru Pathik said that they weren't going to be able to stop until all of the chakra gates were opened he meant it, Sakura and Aang after opening their earth chakra were taken to another location and were now sitting under a mountain canopy that was covered by a waterfall.

"Next is the-

"Water chakra?" Aang and Sakura asked simultaneously

"Very good, perhaps one day you will be a guru to!"

Sakura leaned in and whispered to Aang "I hope he meant just you."

"This chakra deals with pleasure and is blocked by guilt, now look at all the guilt which burdens you so. What do you blame yourself for?"

Aang closed his eyes and began speaking "I ran away...I hurt people."

"I..." Sakura trailed, her eyes scrunched in a frown

* * *

" _I'm not the same as you; I'm travelling a path the rest of you can't follow. I know that the four of us worked together and for a while I thought I could take that road instead but in the end. I've decided on revenge. That's always been my reason for living."_

 _She watched as the raven haired boy turned his back to her "I'll never be like you and Naruto."_

" _Don't do this Sasuke; you don't have to be alone!"_

 _..._  
 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

" _Naruto" Sakura sobbed "This is a once in a lifetime promise, please, please just bring him back. Bring Sasuke back to me!"_

 _A spikey haired blonde boy smiled at her and gave her the thumbs up "Don't you worry, I'm going to bring Sasuke back, I promise that on my life Sakura!"_

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

* * *

Sakura had tears streaming down her face "I wasn't able to stop him from leaving...and I put all of the burden to bring him back on my friend."

"Accept the reality that these things happen but do not let them cloud and poison your energy." said Pathik "If you are to be a positive influence on the world and make amends you need to forgive yourself first."

Sakura and Aang took a deep breath as the images that haunted them vanished into nothing, leaving them feeling lighter with smiles on their faces.

"Very good, now we'll take a short break for some onion and banana juice after that it's on to the next chakra!"

* * *

As Sakura and Aang followed guru Pathik through the temple once again, Sakura felt Aang's eyes on her. She looked at him curiously asking him why he was starring at her without saying a word.

"Sakura, these friends you keep talking about..." Aang started slowly not certain which words to use

"I've had some tough times as well Aang." Sakura said as she continued to look ahead of her making her way through the mountain "I've lost people I love too, I couldn't protect the boy I claimed to love; I let him leave and follow a path of darkness and then I asked my friend, a boy who I've treated like dirt when I was young promise me that he will bring back the boy that now walks this. I made him promise to do this for me. It's put his life on the line many times before and all I could do was watch. I promised to get stronger but even now...he still tries so hard for me."

"Sakura..."

Her eyes saddened "I wonder sometimes, now that I'm gone from my world are things easier for him without me being there as a constant reminder of his promise? Or does he think of me as someone who abandoned him?"

Aang placed his hand on Sakura's shoulder "Sakura, you shouldn't think like that. I'm sure your friends back in your world miss you. Look at all of us, me, Katara, Toph and Sokka haven't known you that long but you've been a really good friend to all of us and we'd never think you'd abandon us."

Sakura's heart clenched "But if I do this training and I find a way home...

"It's not something you should feel guilty for! We'd all miss you but we'd never want you to be unhappy" Aang said strongly "So stop...plus we just opened the water chakra, no need to close it by adding guilt."

Sakura gave a light laugh at Aang's joke, feeling a bit better she and Aang made their way through the mountain again ready for the next gate.

* * *

The sun rose giving the clouds around the mountain a bright orange tinge, Sakura, Aang and Pathik sat near the edge of the mountain.

"Third is the fire chakra, located in the stomach."

Aang clutched his stomach "My fire chakra would like to eat something other than onion and banana juice."

"Dido" Sakura added

The guru laughed at the two teens "Good one, moving on. This chakra deals with will power and is blocked by shame. What is your shame? What are you biggest disappointments in yourself?"

Closing their eyes once again, both Aang and Sakura began to see their disappointments come to life. Aang envisioned the time he had tried to fire bend and accidently ended up burning Katara while Sakura began seeing herself as a genin once again.

* * *

 _Sakura walked into the hospital room and saw Naruto wrapped up in bandages, his eyes looked at her with worry and sadness and shame as he averted them. All because of her._

" _I'm sorry Sakura,"_

 _Sakura's eyes widened, she could tell from his injuries that he had fought extremely hard to keep his promise, putting his life on the line like he said he would but seeing him like this now she realised exactly what she had done, her eyes finally opened to what her grief stricken state had done to this boy._

 _Sakura put a smile, she couldn't let him bare this guilt, she felt so ashamed of herself. 'All because I was too weak to stop him in the first place.'_

* * *

"I'm never gonna fire bend again." Aang said "I can't."

"You will never find balance if you deny this part of your life, you are the avatar and therefore you are a fire bender."

Aang took a breath allowing himself to open the third chakra gate, he looked at Sakura expecting her to have already finished but he saw that her eyes were still shut tightly.

"She has more trouble opening her chakra gates because while you both have your troubles; unlike you Aang, Sakura's nature is very different from yours, she hasn't been born with a heavy burden but time has caused her to continuously place weight on her shoulders that she believes she must carry or she will drag down those around her; she doubts herself and considers every decision she makes to be wrong for someone else..."

Aang looked at Sakura noticing the distraught expression on her face "Sakura, come on you can do this."

"I'm weak," Sakura said softly "I'm ashamed of myself for what I did to the people around me, I was always dead weight yet I acted like I carried the world. I couldn't catch up, no matter how hard I tried."

"Sakura, you must accept that you are not perfect and you shouldn't try to be. You have clearly struggled in life and where there is struggle there is strength."

Sakura opened her eyes...

"Mm, that chakra opened less like a flowing creak and more like a burping bison."

On queue Aang gave a loud burped that was echoed out "Taste like onions and banana yet strangely something else...pickles?"

"Remind me not to burp..." Sakura muttered scratching her head

* * *

For the next chakra they were taken to some old ruins that were once a part of the Eastern air temple. The trip there had taken them nearly two hours.

"The fourth chakra is located in the heart; it deals with love and is blocked by grief. Lay all your grief out in front of you."

Sakura and Aang did as instructed but they were both beginning to see just how taxing this training actually was. While it didn't do much to their physical bodies, their mental states was being tested on a whole other level. Sakura found this especially difficult, while having a sharp mind and powerful will, the years she was being forced to look back at herself.

'Who I am now, hates who I've been.'

Sakura and Aang began seeing everyone they've ever cared about appear before them, Aang saw all of the monks and air benders and Sakura, she began to see Sasuke and Naruto...and the first time they fought. It was after their mission to the land of tea. Sasuke was still in the hospital that time but he made Naruto go up to the roof with him to fight, all Sakura could do was watch as they tried to pummel one another and then finally both drew out their most powerful attacks and attempted to attack one another. That's when she realised, that whatever relationship the three of them had together was shattered. Sasuke left, Naruto followed after him and team seven was no more.

"I'm the last airbender."

"I was the last of my team."

"You have both felt a great loss but love is a form of energy and swirls all around us. The air nomad's love for you has not left this world, and your friends love for you has not disappeared because you have left your world. It is still inside of your heart and is reborn in the form of new love."

Aang and Sakura began to see something take shape in their minds, Aang saw Katara-the first time he saw her face when he had been freed from the ice and Sakura...she saw Aang, Sokka, Katara, Toph and Momo- the time when she first woke up in this world and then Appa, how happy they all were when they came together and then she also saw Zuko...

"Let the pain flow away."

Sakura and Aang opened their eyes with tears streaked down their face and with smiles.

"Very good." Pathik complimented

"Can I have some onion and banana juice please?" asked Aang

"Make that a double." Sakura said with a half sob-half laugh

* * *

As time went on they were moved further into ruins of the temple, they were in a large stone room with a giant statue of a female air nomad carved.

"Next is the sound chakra, located in the throat, it deals with truth and is blocked by lies the ones we tell ourselves."

 _Aang looked at Katara "Why did you tell us you were the avatar?"_

"Cause I never wanted to be..."

"You cannot lie about your own nature; you must accept that you are the avatar."

In Sakura's mind she was going back to the night when Sasuke left.

* * *

" _I'm so in love with you Sasuke I can't stand it!"_

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

" _You need to rest okay?" Sakura said rubbing his head soothingly before standing up "I need to go-_

 _Zuko caught her wrist before she was all the way up and pulled her down enveloping her in a warm hug. "Bye, I'll see you soon."_

 _With a bright smile she returned the embrace nodding her head "Yeah..."_

* * *

"I'm in love with Sasuke...not Lee." Sakura said "I like Lee but the feelings I have for Sasuke, are stronger and I can't forget them no matter how hard I try."

"Love is not something that is exclusive to a single person and you cannot deny your own feelings nor toss them aside. What matters isn't who came first but who stays."

With a deep breath Sakura opened her eyes slowly "It's really hard..."

"Yes, I know every gate is more difficult to open than the next," the guru told her "But if your will is strong there is nothing you cannot overcome."

* * *

The training went on to the outside of the temple by some steps that were carved into the mountain; from there they were able to see the sun shining over the many mountain peaks.

"The sixth pool of energy is the light chakra located in the centre of the forehead."

Sakura gasped "Wait what the centre of the forehead?"

Pathik nodded "It deals with insight and is blocked by illusion."

Sakura seemed nervous now as she touched her forehead; she could see the questioning looks on her face so she began explaining "I've been gathering chakra in this part of my forehead for years. If I try to open the gate there, I might accidently unleash the seal."

"Do not worry." Pathik said "The chakra energy is different from your own, as long as you are able to distinguish the two from one another and open the right gate, you will not undo your seal."

Sakura gave a sigh of relief "Good..."

"Now the greatest illusion in this world is the illusion of separation, things you think are separate and different are actually one in the same."

"Like the four nations." Aang said

"Yes, we are all one people but we live as if divided."

"Like my world and this world."

"Correct, you may not feel a part of this world but you are connected to it."

"We're all connected..." Aang trailed

"Everything is connected" Sakura finished opening her eyes

"That's right even the separation of the four elements is an illusion if you open your mind, you will see that all the elements are one. Four parts of the same whole. Even metal is just a part of earth that has been purified and refined."

"We should tell that to Toph when we get back." Sakura said smiling

Aang nodded "And that'll be soon, because we've only got on more chakra left!"

* * *

Night had fallen; Sakura, Aang and guru Pathik had gone to one of the tallest structures in the temple and were sitting high on the roof of it, surrounded by clouds overlooking the mountain peaks.

"So this is really the last one?" Sakura breathed feeling her heart pound.

"Yes," he looked at Aang "Once you open this chakra you will be able to go in and out of the avatar state at will. You will have complete control and awareness of all your actions."

He then looked at Sakura "And once you open this chakra, you will be able to communicate with the spirit that brought you to this world."

"Let's do this!" Aang and Sakura said

"The thought chakra is located at the crown of the head, it deals with pure cosmic energy and is blocked by earthly attachment, meditate on what attaches you to this world...and Sakura I mean both this world and yours."

"Right..."

Inhaling Sakura closed her eyes and began to meditate, gathering her thoughts and envisioning everything that attaches her to the worlds. Aang did the same and guru Pathik could see the expressions on their faces.

'Love is not exclusive to one, it's infinite.' Were Sakura's thoughts when she saw them both Zuko and Sasuke, she remembered telling Sokka the same thing and it was time for her to heed her own advice...

"Now let all of those attachments go, let them flow down the river...forgotten."

Sakura gasped, keeping her eyes closed "But...I-I can't-

"You must learn to let go...it doesn't mean your love is gone."

With that she opened the final gate...

 **There we go everyone, hope you're looking forward to the next chapter. I'm hoping to get it posted before I start university.**

 **Don't forget to review**


	11. The crossroads of destiny:Chronos

**Okay here'sdon't keyxt chapter, I chapterng to wait until I finished another chapter from another fanfic before I posted this but time is running out for me and with University starting soon I'm trying to up my game here.**

* * *

When Sakura opened her eyes she knew after seeing the pitch black sky and multi coloured, green, pink, red and purple land Sakura knew she was no longer at the Eastern air temple. There was no way for her to fully understand what was happening as she looked around at the barren world.

"Where the hell am I?"

A voice cut through "Now, there's no need for that kind of language."

A figure materialised out of nowhere, resembling a human with long thin white limbs that stuck out of a shaggy black cloak, a white mask on its face with red ribbons wrapped around it hanging loosely. It floated above the crowd and produced a misty fog beneath its feet.

Sakura took a cautious step back warily "W-Who are you?"

The being chuckled "I would've thought you'd know the answer to that, since you came looking for me. I mean, I am the one who brought you to this world."

With a soft gasp Sakura took a nervous step back "Are you the spirit that brought me here?"

"Indeed, I am the spirit Chronos the spirit of space and time or as you humans may call me 'Fate'."

"Fate..." Sakura trailed softly before looking up at the spirit "I was told by the guru to ask you why you brought me to this world?"

The aura this being gave off was unlike anything Sakura had ever felt before, it wasn't something natural, of course that shouldn't be too surprising given the fact she was talking to a spirit.

"On request actually," Chronos began to circle around Sakura slowly.

"Say what?" the pinkette asked watching the spirits every movement

"You see, I am a spirit that sets out the destiny of each individual in the world, this one and yours."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at Chronos "So you control us like puppets?"

"Of course not, one cannot control something they have not created; I do not control humans, I merely set out the outcomes during their lives. I influence them, not control them. If it were that simple I wouldn't need to bring you here."

Sakura continued to watch the spirit with sceptical eyes "And that means?"

"I influence humans to follow a certain path in life; to make decisions that will lead them to their greatest fate but humans are stubborn and arrogant creatures and there are many who oppose my influence and deny their destiny and I cannot do anything to sway them. Recently a great unbalance has been created due to two humans in particular who have opposed the fates I've set for them; it has caused this world to fall into chaos, the flames of war."

"What do I have to do with any of this?" Sakura asked trying to understand everything she was being told.

"Mankind has always been one to oppose fate and hence attempted to create unbalance but I have always managed to restore such contingencies with the help of the avatar."

"So why couldn't you do it this time?" Sakura asked

"Because, a hundred years ago there were two humans who have created this imbalance in this world and one of them was the avatar!"

Sakura gasped "The avatar created this imbalance but they are the ones who are-

"Suppose to maintain it." The spirit said "However in the end, avatar or not a human is a human and this particular rejection of fate has caused this world to fall into chaos; a war of a hundred years."

Sakura scoffed placing her hands on her hips "So what? We have wars back in my world as well."

"But this war can result in the entire destruction of space and time itself!" exclaimed Chronos, the world around Sakura shook suddenly making her strengthen her stance. "Should that happen this entire world shall fall and cease to exist."

"How can that be?"

"Too many humans going against the natural forces of life will result in the inevitable destruction of the world-already a human has attempted to kill a spirit and nearly succeeded!"

"But Aang's the avatar, he can fix this. He'll stop this war."

"I'm afraid that's more not than likely."

Raising its long arm and swiping across the air, the entire fabric of the world she was in had a slight tear now and was showing images to Sakura...horrifying images.

"You see, these humans have already written their fates in stone."

 _Ba Sing Se was being overthrown by Fire Nation soldiers storming through the city..._

 _Aang was in the avatar state and killed by a powerful bolt of lightning..._

 _Katara, Sokka and Toph were all captured and imprisoned..._

 _A powerful comet soared through the sky granting the Fire Nation unimaginable power, allowing them to win the war..._

 _There were three shadowy figures standing among the flames of war; fire surrounding them..._

" _All hail Phoenix King Ozai."_

" _All hail Princess Azula!"_

" _All hail Fire lord Zuko!"_

Sakura gasped as she watched the images disappear "Was that the future?"

"Yes, this is what lies ahead for the world. They have set this out for themselves and there is nothing I can do to stop it from changing, it is set in stone."

Sakura fell to her knees, her hands trembled "No, it can't be...Aang is going to..."

Her head shot up to the spirit "THEN WHY AM I HERE?"

"To change this world's fate."Sakura gasped and looked confused now; not understanding how she was expected to do that.

Chronos raised its arm and the ground began to shake, from there erupted a huge tree unlike any other Sakura had seen before, it held no leaves with many branches and red ribbons tied on it that nearly covered the entire three.

"This is the tree of destiny, every humans born has their string of fate tied to this tree." Pointing a long finger to one of the lower branches Sakura saw several ribbons tied together, she reached out for it; as she did a red string began to form around her hand, she gasped and drew back.

"What was-

"Your string of fate has been taken from your worlds and tied to the people in this one, the avatar, his companions and others."

Sakura breathed in deeply "Y-you said that you brought me here because someone told you to?"

"Yes...this person had a plan to change the fate of this world." Chronos explained "He said that while I may not have the power to change this set course of destruction; someone else could. An extra factor; not influence by any of this world forces."

"Me..." Sakura breathed

"That's right; you are an unexpected turn of events that will either help bring balance back to this world or speed up its destruction. It will all depend on you and your actions."

Sakura took a breath running a shaky hand through her hair "This is crazy, I-I-I only want to go home...back to the place where I belong, where I am needed."

"I took you because you were of little use to your world."

Ouch, that was a real kick to the gut and also completely insulting and infuriating. So the reason this spirit just took her from her world was because she wasn't of any use to it? How the hell was she supposed to feel after hearing something like that? And like this spirit could say she was of little use after all he couldn't even do his job properly and fix fate so he had to bring her here to fix it!

Pushing aside all of the curses and insults she wanted to throw at the spirit she swallowed the lump in her throat and spoke "How do I return?"

"I brought you to this world using the power I had gathered for the last hundred years and it will take me another hundred to gather that same power."

Sakura frowned "So you're saying I'm stuck here!?"

"No there is another way." Chronos said unaffected by her little temper tantrum "Should the avatar master the avatar state, he will have the ability to gather the power of all his past lives and create a storm as powerful as the one I used to bring you to this world, to send you back."

Sakura looked up at the spirit "So Aang has to master the avatar state and create a storm?"

"Correct."

Sakura let out a small sigh of relief, Aang was just about to open his last chakra gate as well that meant she would defiantly be getting out of here! However there was still the fate of this world that was weighing heavily on her mind.

"Then it's decided..." Sakura trailed clenching her fists "I'm going to stay in this world until I help Aang and everyone put an end to this war, save the world and stop this awful fate! I won't go home until I've saved then!"

That was the plan, her resolve. Sakura pointed up at Chronos with a determined expression "And when I go home...I'm going to prove to you that I'm not useless, I am going to become a vital part in this world and mine! Now take me back!

Chronos showed no sign of reaction simply looking at Sakura through a mask "As you wish."

The world around Sakura began to vanish, turning slowly into black...

"There are already forces moving around those close to you." She heard Chronos say "When you awaken you will find yourself facing many challenges that will wound you greatly...and remember..."

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"Although fate presents the circumstances, how you react depends on your character."

* * *

When Sakura's eyes opened she saw was met with Aang's face, his hands on her shoulders shaking her vigorously making her jump with a startle.

"SAKURA WE HAVE TO GO NOW."

Sakura jumped up before Aang grabbed her wrist and began pulling her towards the exit of the temple.

"Aang what's going on?!" Sakura asked turning back to guru Pathik who was calling him but the young avatar didn't listen to him.

"I saw it! Katara's in danger!"

"No Aang!" Pathik called from above the tower "By choosing attachment you have locked the chakra; if you leave now you won't be able to go into the avatar state at all!"

Sakura gasped looking at Aang, she couldn't believe he hadn't unlocked the last gate, he was the one who had opened the other gates with little struggle and now...

Aang jumped with Sakura onto the Aapa and took off away from the temple without another word to the guru.

"Aang what are you thinking?" she asked him "If you can't go into the avatar state then-

"We don't have time to worry about that, I saw Katara in chains Sakura-

"Chains!?" the pinkette's eyes went wide; it was happening now, the forces that were beginning to move...never mind that Aang couldn't go into the avatar state right now, never mind that it meant Sakura couldn't get home, all that mattered now was helping her friends and stopping what fate had in store.

"Let's go!"

* * *

Aang and Sakura flew to Chameleon Bay; they didn't need to explain anything to Sokka who was about to go out with his dad but when he saw the looks on Sakura and Aang's faces he knew something bad was happening. They took off as quickly as possible and were now flying full speed to Ba Sing Se. It was already daylight when they were able to see the outer wall of the city in the distance.

"So what kind of trouble is Katara in exactly?" Sokka asked

"I'm not sure, in my vision I justk new she was in danger."

Sokka pulled his face in confusion "It would help if you avatar powers could be a little more specific from time to time."

Sakura wasn't sure if she should even mention to Sokka that Aang had skipped out on the last part of their training and wasn't able to go into the avatar state, though looking at Aang she knew he wouldn't appreciate that.

'He'll have to tell them eventually. The sooner the better.'

Sakura looked down at noticed a large cloud of dust moving quickly towards the walls and pointed at it "What the heck is that?"

Flying Appa closer they saw that it was Toph who was heading towards the city "NEED A RIDE?" Sokka yelled startling Toph causing her to stop bending and have a hard fall which made all of them wince.

* * *

After picking up Toph they were back on their way to Ba Sing Se, after Aang explained to her that he thought Katara was in trouble. Sakura asked Toph what she was doing all the way out of the city; that's when she explained to everyone that the letter from her mother was a trap set to capture her and take her back home.

"My parents...are the worst." Toph hissed "They would go so far as to pay goons like that to bring me back!"

Sakura rested her hand on Toph's head "I know it hurts but I'm sure they mean well, although their level of protectiveness may be a bit over excessive."

"Tell me about it." Toph sighed

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows when she realised something "Wait you said you were trapped in a metal cage...how did you get out?"

Toph grinned widely "Guess who just became the world's first metal bender!"

Sakura smiled; looks like she didn't have to mention the light chakra to Toph after all.

"So how did it go with the guru?" Toph asked "Were you able to master the avatar state?"

Aang visible winced and turned his head "Uh..."

"Aang are you okay?" Sokka asked

"I'm great." Aang replied with a crooked smile "It went great with the guru, I completely mastered the avatar state."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at Aang but didn't say anything to the others; then attention turned to her.

"And you Sakura? You're still here but, were you able to get some help from this guru?" asked Sokka

Now it was her turn to give a nervous smile "Uh, yeah turns out it was a spirit that brought me here."

Aang turned to her "Oh yeah, I wanted to ask what did it say?"

"Um..." Sakura trailed nervously; she didn't want to tell the set fate of this world and she defiantly did not want to tell Aang she saw his death or the others that they lost this war...She had to think of something.

"Just that if I want to get home you need to whip up a powerful storm in the avatar state and that'll send me back." Sakura told Aang

She wasn't lying about that part she just didn't include the whole, destruction of the world, losing the war, getting captured and every other horrible part of the so called inevitable future that she had to fix.

"Ohh..." Aang trailed nervously, well that wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that he couldn't go into the avatar state at all.

With a sigh Sakura placed a hand on Aang's shoulder "Don't worry, I'm sure when the time comes things will work themselves out."

She hoped so at least.

* * *

When the gang finally reached the royal palace they went straight to the earth king and asked about Katara and if there have been any suspicious happenings.

"Katara's fine, you have nothing to worry about." Kuei reassured the four

"But in my vision; I felt so sure that she was in trouble." Aang said

King Kuei placed his hand on his chin "Well she met with the council of five and since then she's been off with your friends the Kyoshi warriors."

Sokka smiled and looked at Aang "See Aang, she's with Suki. They're probably back at our apartment right now talking about make up or something."

"Okay, maybe you're right."

Sakura let out a sigh of relief; she was still worried about the spirit Choronos and his warnings though.

When Toph, Aang, Sokka and Sakura returned to their old home in Ba Sing Se they entered to found that the previous damage Toph had caused was repaired and Momo who rushed over to Aang, but as they continued to look around they found no sign of Katara.

"There's no one else here..." Toph said

"Katara is in trouble!" Aang said "I knew it"

"Oh no." Sokka and Sakura said simultaneously

Toph then sensed something coming up to their previous home and pointed to the entrance

"Someone's at the door."

 **ok please do not kill me for this chapter I promise to update VERY soon.**


	12. Crossroads of destiny: Secrets revealed

**Okay so I've been working long and hard on this chapter to update as soon as possible so I enjoy.**

* * *

There was a knocking heard at the door and Toph went towards it but Sakura spoke "Wait don't open it!"

"Why not?" asked Sokka

"Has anything good ever come from us opening that door?!" Sakura whispered-yelled; Aang and Sokka seemed to be thinking and realised Sakura had a point but Toph continued heading towards the door.

"Actually I know who it is. It's an old friend of mine" Toph said before opening the door and greeting the figure "Glad to see you're okay."

Everyone was shocked (for different reasons) when they saw Iroh standing there with a serious expression on his face "I need your help."

In reaction to Iroh's appearance Sakura's mouth was nearly on the ground, Sokka's arms were up in the air and Aang nearly fell over his own feet.

Aang pointed at Toph and Iroh "YOU GUYS KNOW EACHOTHER?"

Sakura jumped "That's what I wanted to say!"

"I met him in the woods once and knocked him down then he gave me tea and some very good advice." Toph explained smiling.

"May I come in?" asked Iroh

Toph nodded and watched while everyone sceptically; including Sakura who was wondering what exactly was happening.

"Princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se."

"She must have Katara!" gasped Aang

"She has captured my nephew as well."

Sakura gasped though she still kept quiet; why in the world would 'Lee' be captured by the Fire Nation princess? None of this was making any sense!

"Then we'll work together to fight Azula and save Katara and Zuko."

Sokka stepped in "Whoa, whoa, whoa; you lost me at Zuko!"

"Zuko..." Sakura trained before her eyes widened in fright 'Don't tell me...'

Though it took some time before she recognised the name Sakura finally remembered where she had heard it from not too long ago.

" _All hail fire lord Zuko!"_

Iroh looked at the gang "I know how you must feel about my nephew but believe me when I tell you that there is good inside him."

"Good inside him isn't enough" Sokka exclaimed "Why don't you come back when it's outside him too."

"Katara's in trouble all of Ba Sing Se is in trouble; working together is our best chance." Said Aang

"Wait-wait-wait" Sakura said in confusion finally overcoming the shock of everything and finding her voice "What the heck is going on?"

"I was unaware that you were friends with the avatar Sakura." Iroh said looking at the pinkette with a kind smile.

"Um-okay now I'm really confused." Sakura said nervously "Who are you exactly?"

"Wait Sakura, how do you know him?" asked Aang

Iroh took a breath "I have not been completely honest with you." He said "My real name is Iroh and I am from the Fire nation and my nephew's name is Zuko prince of the Fire Nation."

It didn't take long for Sakura to put two and two together; so that was how they knew Mush-Iroh and Zuko who she previously thought was named Lee; they were enemies and she...

Sakura fell on the ground as her knees gave in and gripped her hair tightly, disbelief and shock written all over her face.

"Oh my god!"

Everyone watched Sakura with curious faces.

"What's going on exactly? Sakura, how do you know Iroh?" asked Aang cautiously as the pinkette looked like she was about to have a nervous breakdown.

"Uh...I-I-I-"

"She's been dating my nephew" Iroh interjected in a sing song voice

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"SAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY WHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT" they all screamed.

Sakura bowed her head.

"So you've been dating the guy who's been hunting us?" asked Sokka in disbelief "Zuko!? The Zuko!? I-I can't believe- how could you-when did you-I-I can't even!"

"It's not like I knew it was him!" Sakura argued blushing deeply

Aang slapped his forehead "Oh Sakura..."

She turned to Aang "Don't give me that condescending tone!"

Toph let out a snort "Wow; small world...To think that the guy you've been so smitten with was actually-

"TOPH!" Sakura exclaimed waving her arms around "I didn't know! Besides he didn't seem like a bad guy to me!"

"Because you haven't known him long enough young lady!" Sokka scolded her

Sakura sighed rubbing her head "Can we just deal with the main problem at hand?"

To be honest she just wanted the attention off of her and was feeling very overwhelmed at the moment.

Aang nodded serious again "She's right, we've gotta go rescue Katara."

"We don't even know where they are!" Toph said

"I brought someone along who can help" Iroh lead them outside where there was a Dai Li agent tied up and gagged. Sakura didn't bother to correct Iroh for being reckless enough to leave someone tied up on their front porch for anyone to catch them!

Toph used earthbending to bring the man up straight; Iroh them removed the cloth around the Dai Li agent's mouth.

"Azula and Long Feng are plotting a coup; they're going to over throw the earth king." he said; a nervous sweat dripping down his face.

Sokka pointed his weapon at the agent "My sister! Where are they keeping Katara!?"

"In the crystal catacombs of old Ba Sing Se; deep under the palace"

Aang's eyes hardened "Everyone get on Appa!"

* * *

"So you he was the one you went on all those dates with!?"

Sakura sighed "Yes Sokka."

"And he was the one who got you that bouquet?"

"Yes Sokka..."

"And he was the you one who-

Sakura lost it

"DAMMIT SOKKA WILL YOU STOP ASKING ME OBVIOUS QUESTIONS YOU ALREADY KNOW THE ASNWER TO?"

Everyone moved as far as they could from Sakura while making sure to avoid the edge of the bison. The pinkette threw herself to the back landing on Appa's fluffy back (a saddle was being made for him but they took off before it was complete); Sakura covered her eyes with her arm.

"I didn't know okay?"

" _All hail fire lord Zuko!"_

"I didn't know, I didn't know, I didn't know..." she murmured softly

Iroh spoke up "I am actually quite glad that my nephew went out with you; he began changing for the better."

Sakura stiffened; she didn't know what to say to that. Those images of the future were still very clear in her mind and they scared her, what's worse it frightened her even more to think that the person she was falling for was the enemy.

"Sokka cut it out." Aang said "Sakura hadn't ever met Zuko."

"Neither have I." Toph pointed out

"Yeah but at least you didn't end up dating him." Sokka said crossing his arms

Toph and Aang rolled their eyes at the water tribe boy.

"I don't understand something though." Sakura said sitting up and looking at Iroh

"Let me guess, you want to know how it came to be that my nephew and I were living in Ba Sing Se as refugees?"

Sakura nodded softly

Iroh began telling Sakura about 'Lee' actual name Zuko (she secretly thought it suited him better); he told her that Zuko was born a prince of the Fire Nation but Iroh's brother and Zuko's father banished Zuko from his home and ordered him to capture the avatar in order for him to return. So after Aang had appeared Zuko started hunting him and his friends down.

"So he literally chased you guys all over the world..."

Sokka nodded "Yeah! It's was like the worst game of tag ever! Then you want to add onto it; his sister decides to join in!"

Iroh sighed "Zuko and Azula may be siblings but there is a great difference between the two. Zuko has a good heart and has chosen to follow a different path." Iroh turned to Sakura "Actually the reason partly for that was you; I believe."

Sakura blushed a little "He sounds like he's had a really difficult life. Being cast out by his own family."

"Since his father banished him Zuko has endure a scar that runs far deeper than the one on his face."

Sakura felt her heart give a painful clench; she always expected Zuko had a difficult past but she didn't think it was this bad. He acted the way he did because of it.

Then another thought occurred to her.

'Do I have a type?'

It wasn't really the best time for her to be asking that question but when she compared Sasuke and Zuko; both had a past that caused them great pain and had shaped their lives and way of thinking. Sakura shook her head.

'Maybe I should re-evaluate my choice in men.'

* * *

Finally they arrived at the earth kings palace, there were no guards around like last time and it was actually eerily quiet. Toph wasted no time in finding the underground city for them; she was crouched down, her hand on the ground.

"Well what do you know, there is an underground city down there but it's deep."

"We should split up" suggested Sokka "Aang and Sakura you guys go with Iroh to look for Katara and the angry jerk-no offense."

Iroh shrugged "None taken."

"Some taken," Sakura said pouting

"And I'll go with Toph to warn the earth king about Azula's coup"

* * *

With that everyone was off; Aang began earthbending them through towards the lost city while Iroh provided them with light; Sakura stared at the flame in awe.

"Something the matter?" Iroh asked her

Sakura shook her head "Just the first time I get to see firebending this close without having to duck."

Iroh laughed softly with Sakura.

"So Toph thinks you give pretty good advice and great tea." Aang said rubbing the back of his head

"The key to both is proper aging; what's on your mind?" asked Iroh looking at the young avatar

When Iroh and Aang started talking Sakura couldn't help thinking that it was strange to believe that they were enemies or that Iroh was a Fire bender-or part of the royal family of the Fire Nation-the ones who the rest of the world was at war with and the ones who would be responsible for the end of this world...those visions; she knew she couldn't let them come true. Chronos had shown her that for a reason and she was determined to fix this worlds fate.

'What a tangled web we weave.' Sakura thought

"Well I met with this guru who was supposed to help me master the avatar state and to control this great power but to do it I had to let go of someone I love and I just couldn't"

"Protection and power are overrated I think you were very wise to choose happiness and love." Iroh told him.

Aang continued to earth bend them deeper into the ground "What happens if I can't save everyone and beat Azula...without the avatar state...what if I'm not powerful enough."

"I don't know the answer sometimes life is like this dark tunnel; sometimes you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel but if you just keep moving you will come to a better place."

Sakura and Aang stared at awe with the sight in front of them.

"Wow"

The crystallised caverns with an open view and small pools of water it was unlike anything has seen by far in this world; it was truly a sight to behold however there was still no sign of Katara or Zuko. Sakura; Aang and Iroh looked around carefully.

"They have to be here somewhere." Sakura said pointing to a wall "Aang let's keep moving."

* * *

Sokka and Toph had gone back to the earth kings throne room to warn king Kuei about Azula plotting a coup but little did they know that the Kyoshi worriers that were there in the room with them was actually Mei and Tylee; Azula had appeared shortly after they had begun fighting and then captured them with the help of the Dai Li agents sending all of them to the cells. Luckily they had Toph's metal bending...

* * *

"I still don't get what you were thinking lying to them like that Aang." Sakura pointed out

"You heard Iroh, I was right to choose love." Aang said as he continued to earth bend them deeper through the tunnel.

"But; you have to remember that you have a duty." Sakura pointed before looking at Iroh in apology "I don't exactly disagree with your statement but still. It's one thing if you're an ordinary person perusing your own happiness but as the avatar you also have a responsibility to the world he can't abandon."

"I understand where you are coming from though I'm not sure I would personally agree with that. I think it is better to choose what's best for you." Iroh said

"That's not how I see it. I'm glad I let go." Sakura looked at Aang "Listen Aang, if you can't let it go it's not worth holding onto."

With that Aang broke through the final layer of earth before coming to another part of the underground city. There they found Zuko and Katara standing side by side. Sakura thought that for so called enemies they sure weren't acting like it.

"Aang, Sakura!" Katara rushed over to them; throwing her arms around them while Iroh ran over to Zuko. Aang and Zuko glared at one another from the distance. Zuko's eyes then landed on Sakura; he gasped.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked Katara looking over her checking for injuries

"I'm alright." Katara said reassured her before frowning "Listen, Azula, Mei and Tylee are here; they're disguised as Kyoshi worriers!"

Sakura and Aang looked at each other.

"Toph and Sokka don't know that!" Sakura exclaimed "They're going to be ambushed!"

"Sakura?" Zuko asked warily as he pulled back from his uncle

"Le-Zuko!" she corrected rushing over to him and hugging him; to which he returned the hug tightly before pulling back.

"What's going on?" Zuko asked looking at her and then his uncle and then Aang.

Katara looked at the two in confusion and shock as she pointed at them "How the heck do you two know each other?"

"Well..." Aang started rubbing the back of his head "Long story short, you know that boyfriend that Sakura's been telling us about?"

Katara nearly fell over and spluttered as she quickly put the pieces together "SHE'S BEEN DATING HIM?!"

Sakura rolled her eyes "That reactions old right now."

Zuko looked at Iroh as Sakura stepped back a little with Zuko's arms still wrapped around her waist "Uncle; Sakura I don't understand; what are you doing with the avatar?"

"Saving you that's what." Said Aang glaring at Zuko who looked like he was about to attack him if Sakura hadn't pulled him back.

"No don't Zuko." Sakura said

Zuko then realised that she had used his real name "You...you said my name?"

Sakura nodded before giving a small smile "I gotta say it suites you way better than Lee."

"But...why are you here with the avatar?"

Sakura pointed to Aang and Katara "Remember those friends I mentioned?"

Zuko looked at her in disbelief "You're with them?"

"Destiny's really funny sometimes huh?" Sakura asked before muttering "Fate's worse than karma."

'And karma's a bitch'

"Zuko; it's time we talked" Iroh said before looking back at the two "Go help your friends; we'll catch up."

Katara and Aang went to take their leave; Sakura pulled away from Zuko as he looked down at her holding onto her hand. "You're going too?"

Sakura smiled and kissed his on his cheek "I have to. They're my friends."

Moving away from him she followed after Katara and Aang.

Zuko had a saddened expression on his face as Sakura left; she saw this but she had to go. She would do whatever she had to protect her friends. It didn't look like that one line of destiny was going to be coming true; she just hoped things were going as well as she thought they were.

Zuko's eyes averted from Sakura as she left; he couldn't believe what he had just discovered...in such a short space of time he had found something that brought him peace and bliss and now-the avatar had taken that away from him.

"Uncle why?"

"You're not the man you use to be Zuko. You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been and now you have come to the cross roads of your destiny. It's time for you to choose; it's time for you to choose good."

Before Zuko couldn't even give it any thought he was stopped by crystals coming forth and entrapping his uncle. He turned and saw Azula standing there with Dai Li agents; after capturing Toph and Sokka it wasn't hard for her to figure out that the avatar would be coming down to rescue his friend.

"I expected this kind of treachery from uncle but Zuko-prince Zuko; you're a lot of things but you're not a traitor. Are you?"

"Release him immediately!" Zuko said dangerously glaring at his sister.

"It's not too late for you Zuko; you can still redeem yourself.

"The kind of redemption she offers is not for you!" Iroh said trying to coax his precious nephew away from Azula's influence.

"Why don't you let him decide uncle?" Azula said before turning to Zuko "I need you Zuko; I've plotted every move of this day; this glorious day in Fire Nation history and the only way we win is together. At the end of this day you will have your honour back; you will have fathers love; you will have everything you want."

Everything he wanted...

"Zuko; I'm begging you-look into your heart and decide what it is you truly want."

"You're free to choose." Azula said holding up her hand for the Dai Li to cease and leave.

Zuko was in turmoil with himself once more and this time; he didn't have Sakura's voice of reason to bring him back.

* * *

" _Thanks..." Zuko muttered_

 _Sakura waved her hand "No problem although the reason you got hurt is kind of my fault. So thank you-I owe you one."_

 _She smiled at him and Zuko felt his heart skip a beat; it had been so long since anyone has looked at him with such a genuine expression besides his uncle. He didn't think it was possible for anyone to look at him like that anymore._

" _You're welcome." he said turning away "Pinkie"_

* * *

" _But I don't want to go out with you!" Sakura snapped_

" _The feelings mutual." Zuko replied "Look it's just one night and then you and I will never have to see each other again."_

" _Why should I agree to this anyway?" Sakura asked_

" _Because you owe me one?" Zuko said with a slight smirk "So I'm gonna collect."_

" _Fine...it's a date."_

* * *

" _My life hasn't started until I achieve my goal." Zuko said offhandedly_

" _Actually I think that's where your life ends." Sakura told him "You may rush through things never making time for anything else because you want to achieve your goal but you never think that there's more to life than just reaching for that goal."_

" _If the goal is almost impossible to reach; then what can you do but commit one hundred percent of your effort?" asked Zuko_

" _You could always take time to stop; it's not like that goal will ever slip away. It'll always be there." Sakura said "No matter what you may think; it's your goal and no one can take it away from you."_

 _Zuko fell silent; all this talk about goals reminded him of how he had been hunting the avatar for so long and yet somehow he's now ended up in Ba Sing Se. He was a refugee; what happened to his goal to capturing the avatar? Was that all off the table now since his sister labelled him a traitor?_

" _Wanna know something though?" Sakura said as she finished her food "Even if it seems like stopping will make you fall short of your goals; you may just be reaching the half way point."_

" _And if your goals become unattainable?"_

" _A goal is never unattainable but there are no rules about not being allowed to make a new goal for yourself." Sakura shrugged_

" _Then again I've always struggled" Sakura said making Zuko turn to her "Nothing ever came easy but I always believed that that's what made me strong."_

" _I know what you mean." Zuko said in a soft tone; he understood exactly what she meant. "To struggle; to suffer; to deal with the pain of being unable to reach your goals; yet...I've never thought that it was possible to change your goals."_

 _Sakura smiled "It's always possible to do that because they are your goals; yet sometimes you feel obligated to do them and you don't even realise that you weren't the one who set those goals. You never really give up on your goals either; not if you create a new one to strive towards."_

 _No longer gazing at the stars the two began to stare at each other; neither one breaking eye contact. The amorous atmosphere had been set around them without realising it as they leaned in towards each other. Eyes gently closing; losing sight of each other only to feel the softness of each other's lips_

* * *

" _I know my own destiny uncle!" Zuko argued_

" _Is it your own destiny? Or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you?"_

 _Zuko turned away from him "Stop it uncle, I have to do this!"_

" _I'm begging you prince Zuko! It's time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you? And what do you want?"_

 _Images of a certain pink haired girl clouded his thoughts, her smile, her emerald green eyes looking up at him...he threw down his swords._

* * *

 _Sakura smiled wider "How are you feeling?"_

" _Huh?" was his turn to ask_

" _You always look so frustrated and upset because you're holding back all of your feelings all the time; it's not fair." Sakura murmured softly "If you do that all the time eventually you'll end up exploding. I think it's better for you to just let them out."_

 _Let them out?_

 _How could he do that?_

" _Well, something's happened and I'm not going to be here for a little while." Sakura started starring at her hands nervously "I-I'm leaving the city with a friend and I'm not too sure how long I'm going to be gone for. I'm leaving first thing in the morning."_

 _Zuko felt something inside of him twist painfully but he did his best not to show any emotions._

" _You're leaving?"_

 _Sakura nodded before reaching out and taking one of Zuko's hands in both of hers; he didn't look her in the eye though. There was always something about the way Sakura looked at him that stirred something within him, he couldn't place whether it was understanding or pity but he didn't quite like it. It was as if he made her tread on egg shells around him._

" _Yes, I didn't want to just leave without saying anything so..."_

 _Sakura wasn't sure what else to say other than that. It wasn't as if she was expecting anything from him by telling him this but she did feel that it wouldn't be right of her to just pick up and vanish without a trace leaving him wondering where she was._

" _When are you coming back?" Zuko asked suddenly snapping her out of her thoughts._

" _I'm not sure," Sakura said "My friends all have something they need to do so we're splitting up for the time being but we defiantly have to return at some point."_

 _It angered him; thinking that she would leave him so easily for her friends but he couldn't tell her that._

* * *

" _You're going too?"_

 _Sakura smiled and kissed his on his cheek "I have to. They're my friends."_

* * *

He made his choice...

* * *

"So you were dating him this entire time?" Katara asked in disbelief

"Okay can we please let that go?" Sakura begged "We've got more important things to worry about like finding Sokka and Toph before that crazy fire nation princess does!"

Just then blue fire came at them and Aang quickly shielded them by earthbending a wall; they saw Azula standing there posed in an attack stance.

"Yeah I think we're too late." Katara said

Then Katara went in for an attack bending the water from the stream towards Azula would use her fire to stop it creating steam. She emerged out of the steam and started shooting fists of fire at them. Aang and Katara created a water barrier before Sakura leapt into the air and smashed the boulder that Azula had landed on forcing her to disperse and return to the ground. She held up her hands; pointing at Katara and Aang while Sakura was in front of her.

"Give it up; you're trapped." Sakura said

At least that's what they thought.

Then there was a blast of flames that came in the direction of the entrance of the caverns; everyone turned and saw Zuko standing with his fist out in a fighting stance. Sakura's eyes widened in disbelief; he didn't even look at her before he started attacking Aang which left Sakura and Katara to take on Azula.

Zuko attacked Aang with such ferocity; his anger fuelling him. This was his purpose; this was his goal; this was...

'My destiny.'

He blasted an attack at the young airbender who had landed on a cluster of crystals; the huge blast of flames broke through the crystals that Aang had used as a shield and then he landed on a rock but then Zuko began to attack with two fire whips coming from his hands.

Azula ran towards the two girls but Katara sent a wave of water her way that stopped her; then Sakura rushed forward to attacking her. She was beyond enraged right now for a number of reasons; being dragged into a war of a world she didn't belong to; this feeling of familiar betrayal eating away at her.

She was really mad and an angry Sakura was never a good thing.

She wasn't going to hold back anymore. Azula continued to shoot fire at Katara and Sakura but Katara blocked her.

"You wanna see fire!?" Sakura yelled as she formed a few hand signs from behind Katara "Fine!"

Moving to the front she drew in her breath; feeling her chakra gather and turn hot "FIRE STYLE; FIRE BALL JUTSU"

She then breathed out a gust of fire at Azula who raised her hands to create her own fire to stop Sakura's flames.

"Are you a fire bender?" Azula asked Sakura

Sakura glared at her as her flames died down "Of course not. I'm just one pissed off kunoichi!"

Zuko grunted as his back hit a crystal; it was difficult to fight the avatar now that he was capable of using three elements. He looked up and saw that his sister wasn't faring to well herself with the two girls fighting her. They had coordinated their attacks with Katara using her water bending to defend and Sakura using her strength to attack. Sakura's abilities were something unlike anything Zuko had ever seen before yet he knew that there was something about them; he began to think back hard...

Then it hit him.

Katara had entrapped Azula in her water and was just about to end things when Zuko's flames cut through releasing his sister. Taking it as a time to tag out Azula went to attack Aang while Zuko now dealt with Sakura and Katara.

Sakura glared at Zuko "Why are you doing this!?"

"That's not your business!"

"And why's that!?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE JUST A STRANGER."

Zuko started using his fire whips to counter Katara's water whips.

"I thought you had changed!" Katara snapped at him

"I have changed" he replied calmly before he continued his assault.

Sakura clenched her fists before jumping in the air as Katara and Zuko continued to fight. She came down and delivered a powerful blow to the ground Zuko was standing on; the earth beneath his feet crumbled and everything was covered in a cloud of dust.

"Sakura..." Katara trailed as the pinkette started looking around for any signs of Zuko.

She then saw his form appear amongst the rubble; he looked like he was out cold. Sakura felt her heart give a painful clench as she reached out to him.

"Zuko..."

Then his eyes snapped open and gold met emerald before Sakura felt a sharp jab at the base of her neck by her collar bone and then at the top of her chest above her heart...her eyes went wide in shock and realisation.

'My chakra!'

Zuko moved away from her "Seems like I was right."

"W-What, ho-how did you-

"Annoying."

Aang went flying into the stone ruins of the old Ba Sing Se; Azula had proven to be more difficult for him to defeat on his own and without the avatar state under control or accessible at this time he wasn't sure if they were going to be able to win.

Sakura and Katara continued to fight against Zuko but with Sakura's chakra temporarily blocked for the next few minutes they were going to have to hold out until then. However Azula entered the mix as well and became too much for Katara to handle. The two girls were sent flying back until they both hit a heap of crystals. Sakura twisted them around so that she would take the full blow instead of Katara but nevertheless they were both immobilised.

Aang emerged and started heading toward Azula and Zuko; ready to fight again but then the surface which he was earthbending and using to make his way over to the two Fire Nation siblings was undone when Dai Li started to emerged and a lot of them as well.

Aang; Sakura and Katara were then surrounded by Dai Li; Sakura was unable to use her chakra for about another three minutes; Katara and Aang were worn out from this battle as well.

'Damn it' Sakura cursed as she forced herself up with Katara 'Of all the times I've been useless in a fight this is the worst timing of all.'

"Sakura get behind me!" Katara said as she surrounded them with water that created tentacles like an octopus.

"I'm sorry Katara" Sakura said in a soft voice

Aang stood up in a stance but his face deterred as he looked around him; taking in the depth of the situation; they were outnumbered and outmatched at this rate they were all going to...

'The only way is to let her go' the guru's voice rang in her head

Aang closed his eyes tightly "I'm sorry Katara"

He sat down crossed leg and encased himself in the crystals as he began his journey through to the final stage of opening the chakra gates. As Aang finally reached the state; his eyes opened with bright light.

Sakura looked to her side and saw the crystal shell Aang was in beginning to glow and she smirked; he did it...he finally did it. There was hope again.

Aang emerged from the crystal; his form floating into the air; eyes and tattoos glowing brightly; she knew he was in the avatar state. Sakura and Katara smiled in relief but that was quickly washed away when Sakura saw Azula heading for Aang; she was going to...

 _Aang in the avatar state getting struck by lightning._

Everything was beginning to unfold right before her eyes.

'I have to stop her!'

She quickly moved across away from Katara and towards Azula.

"Sakura what are you doing?" Katara yelled getting everyone's attention including Zuko who saw his sister coming from behind where the avatar was.

Zuko remembered that he had blocked her chakra; she wouldn't stand a chance against his sister the way she was.

'What is she thinking!?' he asked clenching his teeth and fists

"I'm not letting you do that!" Sakura screamed heading towards Azula

Azula was about to aim her flames at Sakura when the pinkette was knocked to the side; her body smashing into the rocks and rolling; the right side of the upper half of her back from her shoulder blade and a part of her neck was burned.

By Zuko's flames.

Zuko looked on wide eyed and gaping as he glanced down at his own hands wondering what exactly he just did.

Sakura hissed painfully; she had felt the sensation of a blade cutting through her flesh many; many times before; she knew the pain that came when you were lightly grazed by kunai; the press of coarse rope and whips on your skin that left marks for days; the sharp sting from getting hit with needles-she even knew the feeling of being run straight through with a sword. She had smiled when that happened to her for she was able to protect someone.

Yet she had never been burned before; this was an entirely new sensation and she couldn't take it! It was as if that entire part of her flesh was being ripped apart; the sharp constant sting when the air touched that part of her skin; she was painfully aware of that injury and she was known to have endurance. But this was...unbearable.

She screamed; a loud ear piercing; heart wrenching scream **"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"**

"SAKURA" Katara screamed; worried etched into her face.

To make matters worse Azula had hit Aang head on with lightning; enough to kill. Sakura opened her force filled with tears as she watched Aang fall.

'NO'

Katara had rushed over to Aang waterbending everyone out of her way and grabbing him before he fell; Sakura forced her scorched form to Katara's side.

Azula and Zuko began making their way towards them but then another fire of flames stopped them in their tracks. Iroh appeared in front of the girls.

"You've got to get out of here; I'll hold them off as long as I can!"

Katara and Sakura made their escape; over to a stream of waterfall where Katara water bent them out.

* * *

When the girls made it out their friends found them instantly and they made their escape on Appa; Toph and Sokka had escaped after being captured by Azula and left with the earth king and his bear now they were all leaving the city of Ba Sing Se for its fate was obvious.

"Sakura are you okay?" Sokka asked worried looking at the pinkette's burn injury

Sakura nodded determinedly biting back all of the pain she felt from the wound; she wouldn't let her friends down again; they needed her now more than anything to make matter looked at Aang and then Katara with determined eyes.

"If we work together we can save him!" Sakura said strongly; she couldn't let him die, she wouldn't.

Katara unwrapped the small vile of water that she had told Sakura was spirit water from the Oasis. Sakura coated her hands with chakra now that the time period of her gate block was finished and she was able to use it again.

Sakura placed her hand under Katara's; the water in Katara's hand became a lightly tinged green; they placed it over Aang's back where they saw a burn mark. The water absorbed into his skin as well as Sakura's chakra.

Sakura and Katara looked at Aang and saw his eyes open; Katara hugged him as soon as she saw this and realised he would live.

"He's alive Sakura, he's-Sakura!?"

Katara looked at her friend with worry "Let me just find some water and I'll heal you-

"Don't worry..." Sakura said in a soft voice, a small smile on her face "I'll be okay..."

Sakura on the other hand was now completely exhausted. She closed her eyes; still feeling the painful sensation of the burn on her but she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and she knew after using that jutsu she was going to be asleep for a really long time.

'And when I wake up; I'm going to fix this.'

"The earth kingdom has fallen."

 **TADA, TAHT'S THE END OF THAT EVERYONE. HOPE YOU LIKED IT AND HOPE YOU'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT CHAPTER.**

 **SEE YOU SOON.**

 **DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


	13. The awakenings and abandoning

**Thank you for all the reviews, I hope you enjoy this chapter**

* * *

" _Sakura what are you doing?" Katara yelled getting everyone's attention including Zuko who saw his sister coming from behind where the avatar was._

 _Zuko remembered that he had blocked her chakra; she wouldn't stand a chance against his sister the way she was._

" _I'm not letting you do that!" Sakura screamed heading towards Azula_

 _Azula was about to aim her flames at Sakura when the pinkette was knocked to the side; her body smashing into the rocks and rolling; the right side of the upper half of her back from her shoulder blade and a part of her neck was burned._

 _By Zuko's flames._

 _Zuko looked on wide eyed and gaping as he glanced down at his own hands wondering what exactly he just did._

Zuko shot out of bed; sweat dripping down his face as he panted heavily trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. That dream...that dream of the worst memory ever. Even after all this time he still had it every night. He remembered everything; every vivid detail of what he had done. Sakura's wails and screams filled his ears as he saw her on the ground.

He brought his hand up to the scarred side of his face, the rough skin. He knew the excruciating pain of getting burned and he had done it to someone else; he caused someone else to feel his pain.

Zuko shook his head reminding himself of what Azula might've done if Sakura had faced her given the condition she was in. He knew how to block her chakra because he remembered when he went in to see her at the medical centre and she explained to him the exact positions to hit in order to block the flow of energy.

He looked around; metal walls with red interior of the Fire Nation decorating the room. Then he remembered exactly where he was. He was on a ship; heading back home after conquering Ba Sing Se. He was going home after so long at last...home to see his father; the man who he so desperately wanted to approve of him and the man who scarred him for life.

* * *

 _Flames_

 _That's all she could see._

 _Flames forming around her; no way out; there was nothing she could do to escape them. It was becoming difficult to breath. She put her hand over her mouth and coughed. Nothing but pure darkness and the flame dancing around it; she felt as though the air was being sucked out of her. She looked for a way to escape but there was none._

 _The flames were getting closer to her; caging her in. There was no escape._

" _HELP" she screamed "Someone help me!"_

 _She couldn't run._

 _They were coming closer._

 _Feeling warmer_

 _They were going to scorch her entire body!_

" _PLEASE SOMEONE"_

 _Then she saw him._

 _A figure breaking through the flames; she stared in relief at the sight._

 _Jet black hair; dark eyes; stoic expression._

" _Sasuke!" she cried in relief running towards him; her arms wrapping around him tightly._

" _Sakura..."_

" _Sasuke!" she cried out "I knew it; I knew you'd come back! I-_

 _She screamed when she felt a pain running along her shoulder; she pulled away and saw that Sasuke's form began to morph into someone else. His jet black hair grew and became lighter; his eyes changed to gold and the side of his face became scarred. Her eyes widened as terror gripped her being as she attempted to pull away before it was too late._

 _However it already was._

 _He wrapped his hands around her neck blocking off her air; she was unable to breath. She struggled but it was useless; she couldn't move._

' _NOOOOO'_

"NOOOOOOO" Sakura screamed shooting up from under the red covers of her bed; her screaming caught the attention of Katara who came rushing into the room quickly with a worried expression.  
"Sakura calm down it was just a dream!" the waterbender tried to sooth her quickly; after all the last time the pinkette had gone into such hysterics she nearly punched a hole in the side of the ship-luckily it wasn't the outside or they would've sunk.

"You're okay." Katara said wrapping her arms around Sakura; it usually took her a bit before she came to her senses.

Sakura blinked several times as she panted heavily "K-Katara?"

"I'm here"

The pinkette gripped Katara tightly, not strong enough to hurt but enough to make someone understand that she was terrified.

"The same nightmare?" Katara asked gently soothing her hair

Sakura nodded, feeling her mouth run dry as she attempted to calm her breathing. Katara offered Sakura a glass of water that was always left at her bedside (after all the screaming she usually did; she needed it)

"I'm sorry." Sakura muttered rubbing her eyes and sniffing softly

"Stop apologising." Katara said frowning "You're always apologising to us."

"I know but ever since I woke up I've been having these troublesome nightmares."

"It's not your fault; you don't have to be sorry."

Sakura had been out cold for a solid week, during that time they had come across Katara and Sokka's father as well as the other water tribe men at Chameleon Bay; it wasn't long before they ran into Fire Nation ships that were obviously heading to Ba Sing Se; the earth king had left them wanting to travel the world, so he'd set off with his pet bear. They had captured a single ship and made it their disguise; they had also run into a couple of their allies on the way back, like two members of the Freedom Fighters that Long Shot and Smellerbee was a part of lead by Jet. When Sakura woke up she was a little more than surprised when she saw all of the Fire Nation insignias decorating the walls. Luckily her friends were there to clear up the situation for her.

"But I am sorry." Sakura said softly, her hair falling over her shoulder having grown quite a bit, she hadn't bothered to cut it. "So, so sorry."

"Sakura..."

What Katara didn't know was that Sakura wasn't just apologising for keeping her friends up some nights when she had these night terrors, she was apologising for not telling them about Zuko (despite not knowing his identity); for giving Aang that advice to let go and open the seventh chakra gate, for not making it to him in time and saving him and worst of all, for not changing the future of this world. Despite everything Chronos had told her, she was still unable to change anything. She felt like she was just speeding up the destruction to this world! She felt so ashamed.

The only right thing she was able to do at the time was manage to save Aang from the afterlife, but he had been unconscious for weeks now and that worried her. She and Katara did what they could to make sure Aang was out of any danger during his healing processes but it was still heart breaking to see him like that.

'Compared to his condition I'm...'

"I'm okay now Katara," Sakura said pulling away and heading towards the wash room. She heard Katara's footsteps leave the room.

* * *

Sakura entered the wash room; she went to the sink and splashed her face a couple of times to wake herself up because there was no way she was falling asleep again. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and winced, her skin was paler than usual, her eyes had bags under them, her lips were cracked, her clothes were in tatters.

Her hand gently reached for the side of her neck before running down her shoulder to the side of her arm where her top exposed her skin, there her skin felt rough, bumpy and hard like sandpaper; it was a horrible red colour tinge with brown and pink. Sakura had passed out before she could heal herself and Katara wasn't able to heal her in time to prevent the scar.

It hurt to look at it every time, she hadn't allowed anyone to touch her there-Sokka and Toph have tried at least once. This scar reminded her of her failure-of her mistake. It would forever be there as a reminder of that day. She had tried to go against fate and failed. She would fix it though, she promised she would.

'Even if it means...

CRASH

* * *

Sakura jumped when she heard a loud bang coming outside the room. She rushed out of the bathroom; grabbed a cloak to cover her before exiting her room. She heard some voices yelling 'stop' and ran up to the top of the deck where everyone else was gathered around a certain figure that Katara was hugging

"AANG." Sakura gasped rushing over to the young monk, she gave him a quick embrace though was still mindful of his injuries. Looking at Aang now his body wrapped up in the bandages she had replaced on him two days ago and he had a thin patch of hair on his head.

"Sakura?" Aang asked unsurely, having just woken up he sounded a bit groggy and out of it. He must've had a bad reaction to waking up on a Fire Nation ship and assumed the worst. Of course she didn't think he would consider his friends being disguised as Fire Nation.

'It's amazing he hasn't passed out again though...'

Instead of saying that though she simply smiled with relief on her face "You're finally awake."

Sokka came up to him in Fire Nation armour "Aang good to see you back with the living buddy."

Aang rubbed his eyes "Sokka?"

They watched as the airbender started swaying before Toph yelled for someone to catch him as he passed out. Luckily both Katara and Sakura were there to break his fall.

"Figures." Sakura muttered softly

* * *

Slipping on his clothes knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep the rest of the night Zuko went out onto the deck. He looked up at the sky but saw no starts only the full moon surrounded by darkness.

" _Looking up at the stars always help clear my mind because it makes realise how insignificant our problems really are and allows us to face them."_

Not this time though.

His mind was plagued with worry, after he and his sister conquered Ba Sing Se, Zuko didn't feel much for celebrating. He had betrayed his uncle but Azula corrected him in saying that it was the other way around-yet he still felt shame. He would have to face his father soon; every time he thought about it caused a sickening twist in his gut like he was going to be sick. This was a man who disregarded his very existence. He thought everything would be settled for him once he turned his back on those trying to lead him on another path that would take him far from home but now he wasn't so sure what he had done was the right decision.

Right now for Zuko he'd rather be up there than down here forced to deal with his problems and face them. He rubbed his eyes...there had to be something-anything that would make this aching feeling stop.

"Aren't you cold?" he heard Mai's voice and turned around to see the girl walking towards him

"I've got a lot of my mind." He said "It's been so long; over three years since I was home; I wonder what's changed; I wonder how I've changed."

Mai yawned "I just asked if you were cold; I didn't ask for your whole life story."

 _Sakura_ would never make that kind of statement like Mai, she would never act like she didn't care, she wouldn't have ignored his problems, when she saw that something was bothering him, she'd always have him confess what it was (even when he didn't want to) that was just the kind of person she was. At times it irritated him but now that he didn't have that anymore...

He turned away from her but felt a hand on his cheek as Mai turned him around.

"Stop worrying."

She kissed him.

And in for that short moment; he forgot about everything; about his worries; his troubles; his actions; he forgot her...

Nothing mattered.

* * *

When Aang woke up again he was eager to have the many questions swimming around in his head answered. He asked, why they were on a Fire Nation ship, why everyone was dressed in red and why he was the only one who had no idea what was going on.

"Aang relax." Sakura said

"She's right, you need to take it easy, you got hurt pretty bad." Katara then smield at him "I like you hair."

"I HAVE HAIR?"

Aang felt the top of his head "How long was I out?"

"A few weeks." Sakura responded

Then Katara and Sakura's father Hakoda appeared; he was a middle aged man with the same dark skin as his children, he had blue eyes and dark brown hair.

"Everything okay?"

Katara frowned and turned away from her father "We're fine dad."

He held out his hand to Aang "I'm Hakoda, Katara and Sokka's father."

Katara put her hand on Aang's shoulder and spoke in a hostile tone "He knows who you are, I just called you dad didn't I?"

"I guess you're right..." Hakoda replied

Sakura and Aang could sense the tension here but despite that Aang held out his hand for the water tribe man "Nice to officially meet you chief Hakoda."

"It's an honour to meet you." He said taking Aang's hand

"Great, great now you two have met so would you mind giving us some privacy?" Katara snapped

"Of course." Hakoda said before moving over to Appa

"Are you mad at your dad or something?" Aang asked

Katara looked at him confused "What? No, why would you think that?"

'Oh I don't know, just hunch?' Sakura thought, she had noticed that Katara's behaviour towards her father had been somewhat hostile and not all that welcoming. She had been so excited when she found out they would be able to see him but now she was acting like...that.

Aang groaned gripping his torso

"Come on, you need a healing session." Katara instructed helping Aang up before turning to the pinkette "You wanna come with Sakura?"

She nodded softly.

* * *

Sakura watched while Katara healed Aang, she had done most of the healing yesterday, the girls decided to work together in shifts to heal him faster. There was a visible burn wound on his back that had been very troubling for them to heal; it had been where Azula's lightning made direct contact. Katara told Aang to inform her where his pain felt most intense; she said she could feel a lot of twisted up energy in that part; when Katara attempted to draw out that energy Aang seemed to come to a sudden realisation.

"I didn't just get hurt did I?" he asked holding his head "It was worse than that, I was gone but...you two brought me back."

Katara shrugged "I just used the spirit water from the north pole and Sakura used her healing; I'm not sure what we did."

"You saved me." Aang turned to them

Sakura let out a breath feeling forehead drip down her head, the room they were in was rather heated.

"Sakura, you can take off the cloak you know...

Katara stopped when she saw the expression on the pinkette's face and her smile dropped.

"What is it?" Aang asked when he noticed Sakura take a few steps back from them.

Sakura sighed and looked at Katara who stared at her with sympathetic eyes. Looking at Aang Sakura sighed and slowly opened the part of her robe to show him the scar. Aang's eyes widened when he saw it.

"How did this happen?" Aang asked standing up

"When we were fighting." explained Katara looking at Sakura "She tried to stop Azula from hitting you-

"So she did this?" he asked clenching his fists angrily

"No" Sakura said lowering her head

"It was Zuko."

Aang's face turned red when he thought about the Fire Nation prince.

"This is all my fault..."

Sakura glared up at Aang "No it isn't. I was the one who wasn't paying attention to things and I paid the price. I was the one who didn't stop Azula from hurting you."

She knew Aang wouldn't understand why she was saying these things, but she knew, she was warned about the future and yet when she discovered Zuko's identity she had assumed that he wasn't going to follow down the path to that set destiny. She made that mistake, no one else. Though this was also a really loud wakeup call for her, she promised to no longer become sidetracked.

Another thing she realised was this, Aang had died; he had been killed in the avatar state meaning-

'I can't go home anymore'

" _If I'm killed in the avatar state, I won't be brought back. Avatars have a reincarnation cycle; it goes water, earth, fire, air and then repeats itself."_

Yes, she realised it, Aang had been killed in the avatar state and because of that he wouldn't be able to send her home anymore but that was the least of her problems. She knew she was focused on getting home because of that she allowed herself to think she was changing fate; she thought Zuko was an ally, she thought she could save Aang, she thought she was fixing things but she wasn't. She was too blind to see that it was going to take a lot more to change everything. Chronos had warned her that she was either going to stop the destruction of this world or speed it up. While she yearned to see home again now more than ever given everything that happened, she knew she had created circumstances that she had to solve.

'I'll do whatever it takes to save this world.' Sakura promised herself

Aang went over to her and Katara and the three shared a hug for comfort before pulling back.

"It's over now; the best thing to do is figure out what's next." Aang said

"Actually we've already got that covered." Katara said smiling "But we'll talk more about it tomorrow; you need to go rest."

Aang said goodnight to Sakura before Katara helped him out.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast Sokka told Aang what had been going on for the past few weeks while he was out cold. He explained to him that they had flown back to Chameleon Bay after Ba Sing Se was conquered and ran into Katara and Sokka's father and the other water tribe men. The earth king had gone on his own with his bear to travel the world. He then told Aang about how they had captured a Fire Nation ship and made it their disguise when they were swarming towards the city.

Sokka showed him a map "Since then we've been travelling west; we crossed through the serpents pass a few days ago. We've seen a few Fire Nation ships but none of bothered us."

Aang looked away from the bowl of food in his hand "So what now?"

"We've been working on a modified version of the invasion plan." Hakoda said

"It's Sokka's invasion plan." Katara snapped at her father before taking a bite out of her food.

Sakura look at Katara softly; Sakura tried confronting Katara about it she just brushed it off saying that the pinkette was just imagining things. But those glares were no one's imagination.

"Yes Sokka's plan...We won't be able to mount a full scale invasion without the earth kings armies but the solar eclipse will still leave the Fire Nation vulnerable."

Sokka then told Aang that they were planning a smaller invasion with just a group of their friends and allies around the earth kingdom.

"And the best part is the eclipse isn't even our biggest advantage." Sokka said with a grin before whispering to him "We have a secret...you"

"Me?" Aang asked in confusion

"Yep; the whole world thinks you're dead." Sokka said with a big smile "Isn't that great?"

Sakura face palmed and shook her head; Sokka may be a great strategist-he reminded her of Shikamaru in a way only Shikamaru didn't have the bad sense of humour and sarcasm.

"Sokka you should really learn to get to the punch line before you celebrate." Sakura said

Aang stood up "The world thinks I'm dead? How is that great news? That's terrible"

"No it's great." Sokka said walking over to Aang "It means the Fire Nation won't be hunting us anymore and it also means they won't be expecting you on the day of black sun."

Aang shook his head "No; you have no idea. This is so messed up."

Then they heard the sound of another Fire Nation ship that was heading their way. Aang got out his glider.

"I'll handle this; the avatar is back"

However due to his injuries Aang couldn't contain his grunt of pain he felt on his side. Katara was the one to remind him that they didn't know the group wasn't Fire nation.

"Everyone just stay calm; Bato and I will handle this." Said Hakoda

Everyone else started to make the ship look a little less like it was carrying imposters; by hiding Appa and ducking down below deck to make sure they weren't spotted.

The ship stopped and soon three real Fire Nation troops walked on board.

"Commander why are you off course? All Western ships are supposed to be heading towards Ba Sing Se to secure the occupation."

"Actually we're from the Eastern fleet; we have orders to deliver some cargo." Lied Hakoda

"Well nice of Admiral Chan to let us know he was sending one of his ships our way."

"I'm sure Admiral Chan meant no disrespect" said Bato

"I mean how hard is it to send a messenger hawk?"

"Next time we'll send two hawks to be sure you get the message."

But then one of the two guards with the commander whispered to him "Sir Admiral Chan has been on leave for two weeks on Ember island."

"What why doesn't anyone tell me these things? Something's not right. I think this is a captured ship...we'll wait till we're safely on board and then we'll sink it."

Luckily thanks to Toph's sharp hearing she was able to warn the rest of them "THEY KNOW"

Toph sent the three Fire Nation troops over the ramp into the water and Katara split the two ships up so that they could make their escape.

* * *

After three long years Zuko had finally been able to return home; he was in the palace now. After it was announced to the entire nation that he had returned having helped Azula secure Ba Sing Se. He was now considered a hero amongst them. Yet; he still had to face his father and he was anxious.

He was sitting in the large garden of the palace near the water hole; this was where his mother would take him to feed the turtle ducks before she vanished. After that he had stopped coming to this part of the palace for the memory; he had stopped feeding the turtle ducks.

'Until...'

 _Sakura smiled at Zuko placing a piece of bread in his hands "Okay this time, don't chuck it please?"_

 _With a soft sigh he broke off a few pieces and threw them into the water "I take it I'm also not supposed to yell at you right?"_

 _Sakura laughed softly sitting down beside him at the water's edge, the first time she brought him here he had been in a really bad mood-more than usual and had completely lost his temper with her, turned out though that's what Sakura wanted him to do, let out his frustrations even if it meant on her._

" _Depends; how are you feeling?"_

 _He grunted in response before tossing another piece of bread in the water watching as the turtle ducks ate them._

 _Sakura placed her head on his shoulder before throwing a piece of her bread into the water; she smiled as she watched the ducks gather around, two adults and some babies._

" _Same huh?" she said gently caressing his hand "It must be difficult to handle yourself."_

" _What I'd like to know is how you can handle me." Zuko said without really thinking; though he was curious about it, she was able to handle him to an extent only his uncle had been able to. At some point even he couldn't take it._

" _It's easy actually, to handle yourself use your head, to handle others use your heart. I only learned that after a I lost someone important to me" Sakura told him; her eyes seemed unfocused and she appeared to drift somewhere else before coming back_

" _What I would like to know though is why you're always pulling a face whenever we come here. It's away from the city but you seem to get extra 'angsty'."_

" _It's nothing." Zuko muttered_

" _That's a lie." Sakura stated back clearing her hands of bread crumbs "You get triggered whenever we come here, does this remind you of something you'd rather forget?"_

 _Zuko ran a hand through his hair "If I say yes will you stop interrogating me?"_

 _Sakura nodded._

 _He took a breath "My mother...she use to take me to feed the turtle ducks."_

 _Emerald green eyes softened "Your mom's gone...isn't she?"_

 _Zuko kept his head down; he felt arms wrap around his shoulders a familiar warmth filled him. "I don't need your pity."_

" _It's not pity." Sakura stated hugging him still "It's called empathy. Your past is a touchy subject, I get that but don't let it steal your present or future..."_

 _He felt his heart begin to beat faster; this girl was really something out of this world._

Zuko lightly tossed the bread into the pond watching as they ate it before swimming away as Azula appeared.

"You seem so downcast; has Maigotten to you already?" the Fire nation princess asked her brother before smirking "Though actually Maihas been in a strangely good mood lately."

"I haven't seen dad yet; I haven't seen him since I was banished." Zuko said frowning

"So?"

Zuko frowned at his sister's carless attitude; he'd thought she would at least understand his worry "So I didn't capture the avatar."

"What does it matter; the avatar is dead." Azula said but then she caught sight of something in Zuko's face and being a woman who has always trusted her intuition she was certain something was wrong "Unless you think he somehow miraculously survived?"

Zuko recalled what Katara had said to him back in Ba Sing Se when they were both captured and imprisoned together. At first; all the water tribe girl could do was scowl and scream at him for all his past actions he had been willing to finally leave behind but then they had a moment of empathy when the topic of losing their mother's the Fire Nation came up. Things had settled between the two after that and then Katara mentioned the spirit water from the North Pole. She had intended to use it to attempt to heal his scar but that's when Aang, his uncle and Sakura appeared. He wondered if it was possible that she...  
"No; there's no way he could've survived."

The siblings stared at one another for a few seconds that seemed longer before Azula pulled back.

"Well then I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."

He wasn't so sure anymore.

* * *

Flaming rocks came at the ship as they tried to get away; Toph was earth bending rocks that Sakura loaded in front of her at the ship trying to get them to stop their attacks while Katara prevented the ship from sinking by using her water bending to seal any holes the other ship would cause.

"I'm gonna give us some cover!" Katara yelled before water bending some mist around them; but the ship continued its attacks even while blind and it was having some good luck hitting their ammo.

"I can't just stand by and do nothing." Aang said running outside.

"Aang no" Sokka said running up to him and grabbing his staff "You're still hurt and you have to stay a secret; just let us handle this."

"Fine" Aang said upset as he stomped off

The mist cleared and the two ships were still neck in neck with each other; they suffered another hit on the ship starting a fire that Katara luckily put out.

"How are we doing?" asked Toph holding onto the edge of the boat.

"Things couldn't get much worse" Sokka commented

Just after he said that the sea serpent the gaang had come across on their way to Ba Sing Se submerged from the water right behind Sokka.

"The universe just loves proving me wrong doesn't it?"

"You make it too easy." Sakura commented back glaring at the sea monster; she bet Chronos was laughing behind that mask of his watching their misfortune.

The sea serpent was hit by their enemy ship and in retaliation went for the other ship and attacked it, giving them a chance to escape.

"Thank you the universe." Sokka said

"Yes thank you." Sakura sighed in relief.

* * *

Later that night the ship was docked Sakura; Katara; Toph and Sokka went out into town to go and get dinner; they had tried coaxing Aang to come along but when they said he had to cover his forehead so no one would see his arrow he said he didn't want to go. Then Katara stayed to chat with him and told Sakura that Aang was really upset about this whole 'being dead' thing. Now they were back on the ship carrying their food and Aang's.

"He said that he always knew he would have to face the Fire Lord but that he had to do it on his own." Katara said sadly

"You have to try to understand this is difficult for him to deal with." Sakura said softly "He probably feels like he let the world down again by making them believe his dead AGAIN. He saw how he had become the hope of so many people and now that was being taken away from them. He can't help it if he is upset over this. He probably feels guilty more than anything else. Just give him some time. He'll come to realise he isn't alone."

"You know Sakura you give a lot of good advice." Katara said smiling

Too bad she couldn't take her own.

Sakura shrugged "Well you learn from experience...I use to be one who was filled with nothing but empty words though. Speaking of advice Katara what's been going on with you and your dad?"

Katara looked at her surprised "What are you talking about? Nothing-

"I can tell that's a lie even if you won't admit it." Sakura said cutting her off "You're snapping at him for no good reason or at least for a reason he doesn't know. You need to be honest and upfront with him if you expect anything to get better. You think bottling up your feelings will make everything alright? It won't. Trust me."

Katara looked down at the floor sadly "It's just I don't understand...I-I'm upset because he's here; after all this time when he left us. He just comes back like this. He just left us and...and-

Katara started crying; she crouched down putting the tray on the ground "What am I supposed to say to him Sakura? Why did you leave us dad? Why didn't you stay with us?"

Sakura put her hand on Katara's shoulder "That's exactly what you should say to him; Katara. If you want him to understand how you really feel."

* * *

They arrived at Aang's door, Sakura knocked on it but there was no reply; Katara went ahead and opened the door.

"Hey Aang we brought you some food."

But as they looked around they realised he wasn't there. Sakura and Katara began to panic when they saw his glider wasn't there either.

Aang was gone.

"Oh no!"

Katara went running out quickly while Sakura just stared at the empty room with a heavy heart "Oh Aang."

* * *

Sakura found Toph and Sokka and told them that Aang was missing, first thing that they did was check every room in the ship though Sakura was pretty sure Aang wasn't even on the ship anymore. After that they found Katara talking with her father (Sakura guessed that she took her advice and talked to him given the tears she wiped away) , she rushed over to them when they came out.

"We can't find him anywhere on the ship." Sokka said worriedly

Sakura frowned "He's probably heading to the Fire Nation."

"Why would you think that?" asked Toph "He has to stay a secret."

Katara explained to them that Aang had been really upset about the world thinking he was gone and about the invasion plan. She told them that he believed he had to face the Fire Lord alone, that he didn't want their help anymore.

"He's letting his feelings of guilt and shame cloud his judgement." Sakura stated crossing her arms over her chest

Hakoda came up to the gaang "We'll set a course for the Fire Nation-

"No" Sokka interjected "We've been here before, they have blockades and if they discover we're not Fire Nation it's over."

"Well that what do we do?" asked Toph

Sokka seemed to be thinking before he nodded to himself "We'll go, me, Katara, Sakura and Toph will go on Appa and find Aang. Dad, you and everyone else have to stick to the plan and find everyone around the earth kingdom for the invasion."

"Wait what?" asked Katara looking back and forth

"It's the only way," Sokka said "This way we won't fall behind; it's the only logical option."

Sakura nodded "I agree with you on that. We can meet up with everyone on the day of the eclipse."

Hakoda smiled "Sounds like a plan."

Sokka turned to everyone "Okay, you guys get ready to go on Appa; I'm going to go over some things with my dad before we head out."

* * *

They were setting off on Appa within the hour after Sokka finished giving his father further instructions on where to find their allies and some blue prints for designs he had come up with that were going to help them invade the Fire Nation; unfortunately the weather was not on their side a huge storm started just as they left, the wind blew the rain that beat against their skin heavily, lightning struck forcing them to stay just above sea level of course the waves weren't very generous either.

"I've never hated flying as much as I do right now!" Toph said holding her stomach "Sokka can't you make the ride a little less bumpy?"

"Oh would you like to take the wheel!?" Sokka yelled over the wind that carried most of his voice away

Katara frowned at them "Would you two stop; we need to find Aang!"

"I'm really worried, he's gotta be caught in this storm!" Sakura exclaimed

"All the more reason to hurry!" Toph yelled

"Katara what does the map say!?" Sokka yelled

"I'm not sure, I can't exactly see clearly in this weather!"

Sakura realised that even if they knew where Aang was headed, finding him wasn't going to be any easier. He couldn't have gotten very far with this weather but unless they knew his exact location...Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated, letting the world around her fade, the sounds of the storm and her friend's voices vanishing.

'Chronos'

* * *

When Sakura opened her eyes again, she found herself back at the place where she first met the spirit; she looked around and saw Chronos hovering near the tree of destiny. She calmly walked over to the spirit.  
"Chronos," she greeted

"How unexpected of you to show up." he said "What could you possibly want?"

"I need to know where Aang is." Sakura said not bothering to beat around the bush "I need you to help me find him."

"I am not at liberty to do such-

"Just tell me if there's a way to find him." Sakura said cutting him off

Chronos was silent for a few minutes while Sakura continued to stare at him unwavering. "Well?"

"There is a way." Chronos concluded reaching a slender hand out for Sakura's but stopping a few millimetres away, the string of fate appeared. "If you tangle the strings of fate; the bond between you and the avatar will strengthened and you will be able to find him wherever he may be."

"Then do it." Sakura said

"It's not that simple." Chronos interjected gesturing to the branch where she and her friend's strings were tied. There were so many of them; all of the people that they had each met. The strings extended further through the tree to other strings.

"By doing this your neatly tied string of fate will become tangled with the people of this world."

Sakura rolled her eyes "I get it okay, just do it already!"

"While there are no consequences for those in this world, there will be for you." Chronos warned

Narrowing her eyes Sakura angrily stomped her foot on the ground; she was not going to let doubt cloud her mind right now. Not when her friend was at stake. With having her heart broken, being unable to stop a world fated to doom and unable to return to her world; she doubted she had anything else to lose.

"Whatever they are, I can deal with them later!" Sakura said strongly "I just want to find my friend!"

Chronos let out a small noise that sounded like a sigh of defeat "Very well..."

* * *

"Sakura!"

"Sakura wake up!"

The pinkette's eyes snapped open to see her friend looking at her with worried expressions; she moved closer to Appa's head and narrowed her eyes looking through the darkness of the stormy night.

"Not that way Sokka." She pointed straight and then a little to the side "Go that way."

"What?"

"Trust me." Sakura said, continuing to stare out into the distance. "He's there."

* * *

No one could really argue against Sakura because it wasn't as if they knew exactly where Aang would be. They flew through the night, following Sakura's directions without saying anything until finally the storm cleared, the sun rose and the Fire Nation was in clear sight. Getting through the blockade had been easy enough given that the storm provided cover. With her continued guidance, the group soon saw a black island shaped like a crescent coming into view with a volcano (rather fitting).

"I don't see anything" Katara said looking around

Sakura pointed down towards the shore "Over there."

Everyone gasped when they spotted Aang lying near the water unconscious; they were so engrossed with finding him that they didn't question how Sakura knew where he was.

Momo flew over to him and started licking his face which seemed to wake him up. After landing Appa in the water Katara ran up to him embracing him and the rest of the group joined in shortly after everyone filled with relief.

Aang smiled as he pulled away from them "I have so much to do."

"I know but you'll have our help." Katara said

"You didn't think you could get out of training just by coming to the Fire Nation did you?" asked Toph

"What about the invasion?"

"Well join up with my dad and the invasion force on the day of the eclipse." Sokka reassured him

Sakura smiled "We're all in this together right?"

Toph then felt something wash up on the beach and reached out for it "Hey what's..." she grabbed it and realised what it was "Oh it's your glider."

It had defiantly seen better days giving it was basically a stick now.

"It's okay." Aang said taking it from Toph "If someone saw this it would give away my identity, it's better for now that no one knows I'm alive."

"So you had to run away to realise that?" Sakura asked jokingly earning a light smack at the back of the head from Katara. Sakura was curious about exactly what had really enlightened Aang.

Aang jumped further up to the volcano and stuck the remaining staff into the ground before returning to his friends. They all washed as the volcano's lava caused it to set on fire and burst into flames.

Sakura took a breath; Aang had clearly found some resolve for that short time he was gone.

And was relieved because from this point on; none of them could afford to waver.

 **AND THAT'S THE END OF THAT. Fair warning it might be a while before I add another chapter because I have to start writing it. My university Orientation is this week and next week and then I'm only going to have one week free before I go which means; expect very few updates but still expect them.**

 **Okay, bye for now everyone!**

 **Don't forget to review-the more I read, the more I write, the sooner I update.**


	14. Headband-HeadbandS

**Here we go everyone; I know that you've been waiting for this update so I won't bother with a long explanation. Hope enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

After successfully getting to the Fire Nation and reuniting with Aang, the gaang decided that they were going to remain there until the day of the invasion before meeting up with the rest of their allies for the time being they were going to have to keep their identity a secret in enemy territory.

"I think I see a cave bellow," said Aang

"Shh keep quiet." Sokka scolded for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

As the group dispersed down towards the Fire Nation island; their disguise as a cloud thanks to Katara's water bending; moving until they reached land, on a deserted shore side; Sokka was the first to jump off and take cover looking out for anyone.

"Great job with the cloud camo but next time let's be the kind of cloud that knows how to keep its mouth shut." Said Sokka crossing his arms

"Sokka as a ninja I applaud you for your sense of caution but as one of the passengers you were complaining to throughout this ride I beg of you to shut up." Sakura said hopping off of Appa

"Yeah we wouldn't want a bird to hear us chatting up there and turn us in." Toph mocked

"Hey we're in enemy territory" Sokka pointed to the birds on the rock he was hiding behind "Those are enemy birds."

The group just laughed at him as they started to make their way into the cave.

"Well this is it; this is how we'll be living until the invasion begins." Sokka said gesturing around him "Hiding in cave after caver after cave...after cave."

"Sokka; when in enemy territory the best thing to do is to hide in plain sight." Sakura said folding her arms

"Sakura's right; we don't need to become cave people what we need is some new clothes" Katara said looking down at her torn dress.

"That's right; blending in is better than hiding out. If we get Fire Nation disguises we'll be just as safe as we would be hiding in a cave." Aang said smiling

"Plus they have real food out there. Does anyone want to sit in the dirt and eat cave hoppers?" asked Toph before smashing her fist against the rock making the little critters jump out and Momo make a grab for them.

Sokka pulled his face "Looks like we're outvoted Momo, let's get some new clothes."

* * *

They found a house not too far from their temporary hide out. Everyone peered over the rocks looking at the set of houses and the laundry lines hanging with clothes.

"I don't know about this." Aang said nervously "These clothes belong to someone."

"Hey you gotta do what you need to in order to survive." Sakura said though she was had to admit she was feeling a little guilty about stealing these clothes as well.

"I call the silk robe" Katara yelled rushing to the line first

"Well if it's essential to our survival...I call the suit!" Aang said

Toph sighed and shook her head "Honestly they're just clothes."

"Want me to help you find an outfit?" asked Sakura knowingly raising an eyebrow.

Toph nodded "Yes please."

* * *

"Tada, normal kid!"

Aang was wearing a pair of baggy brown pants tucked into his black boots; a black throw over with a brown top underneath; he also wore a red headband to cover his arrow. Sokka wore a brown shirt with three quarter black pants and a type of short throw-over. Toph wore a full body red suit that showed her arms and legs and a brown throw-over with a belt. She tore off the soles of the shoes so she would still be able to see well.

"How do I look?" Katara asked coming up to the group; she was wearing a long red skirt; she had on armbands and bracelets and the top half of her hair was styled in a bun and tied in the front while the rest of flowing loose.

Aang blushed but then noticed something making his face fall "Uh; your mom's necklace."

"Oh" Katara touched in gently before untying it "I guess it's pretty obvious it's water tribe huh?"

"Where's Sakura?" Sokka asked looking around

"Right here" Sakura said coming out from behind a rock; she was wearing a long sleeved light red dress with a deep red pullover that was tied with a white ribbon; she glanced down at her right hand where she held her ninja headband. Katara frowned slightly when she saw this.

"You're not going to wear it?" she asked the pinkette

Sakura looked up at her and smiled gently shaking her head "No, this isn't from any nation but I don't think it's worth the risk."

Aang stepped forward "I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem after all isn't that important to you-

"It's fine." Sakura cut him off quickly, her grip tightened on the headband "I'd rather not...wear it right now anyway."

"And what are we going to do about your hair?" asked Sokka warily making everyone glare at him "What? Last time I checked we were supposed to blend in...PINK HAIR DOES NOT BLEND IN."

Sakura sighed and did a couple of hand signs "I've got that covered."

Her hair began changing from pink to long black wavy hair that ended at her waist.

"Nice." Aang said nodding

"Oh right, ninja." Sokka said

Sakura smiled warily before gesturing for them to start moving "Let's go"

* * *

After taking a quick trip to a merchant for some accessories to go with their outfits; Katara got a new necklace and Sakura, Sokka and Toph got new accessories for their hair, Aang already had a new headband that came with his outfit. The group started to look around town for something to eat. Aang glanced around the building they were standing behind towards the crowded streets.

"I use to visit my friend Kuzon here a hundred years ago; so everyone just follow my lead and stay cool or as they say in the Fire Nation stay flaming."

Everyone looked at one another with odd looks as Aang made his way ahead of them.

"I have a feeling that saying died out after a hundred years." Sakura muttered

"You think?" asked Toph

"It should." Katara added

Aang was quickly deterred by his tour when he discovered that they had stopped in front of a meat restaurant.  
"We're going to a meat place."

"Everyone eats meat here." Sokka pointed out "Even the meat."

Sakura stuck her tongue out in disgust when she saw a hippo cow literally eat meat. "I actually might become a vegetarian when I leave this place."

Though right now her hunger was overwhelming.

"You guys go ahead; I'll just get some lettuce out of the garbage." Aang said; it was better than meat anyway.

Aang remained outside bowing his head to everyone that passed repeating 'Hot men' however when three people dressed in armour appeared then he started getting nervous.

"It's over; we caught you."

"Who me?" Aang asked silently praying that he hadn't been found out already, his friends would kill him.

"It couldn't be more obvious that you don't belong here."

Aang felt his knees tremble as he wondered if his identity was revealed already.

"Next time you play hooky you might want to take off your school uniform."

'Uh oh'

* * *

Sokka, Sakura, Toph and Katara sat around a table eating. Sokka and Toph had ordered one of the largest plates just to see who could outdo the other while Katara and Sakura attempted to eat and not pull disgusted faces.

"They are so..." Katara trailed finding it hard not to stare. Sakura shook her head but chuckled; it reminded her of the time Sasuke and Naruto-who at the time turned everything into a contest, were battling to eat as much as they could in order to become stronger for their training, of course they just managed to make themselves sick and threw up everything.

'Stupid,' she thought shaking her head lightly, her heart feeling heavy again as she attempted to forget the memory before turning back to Sokka and Toph with a frown.

"You guys shouldn't eat so much." Sakura warned "You're going to throw up."

Toph waved her hand dismissively and spoke with a mouthful "W-We're fine."

"Ye-Yeah." Sokka nodded before shoving another piece of meat into his mouth, Sakura stuck out her tongue and pushed her plate with the rest of her food away from her.

"Should've gone with Aang for that lettuce," she mumbled resting her forehead on the back of her hands leaning on the table.

"You gonna finish that?" Sokka asked looking at her plate where she had barely taken more than three bites.

Shaking her head she pushed her plate further away from her and towards Sokka. Katara looked at her with a concerned expression.

"Sakura..."

The pinkette glanced up at her "Hmm?"

"Are you feeling okay?"

Giving another half hearted smile Sakura nodded "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

Though still sceptical Katara didn't push the matter any further and returned to eating her own food.

* * *

After everyone got some food in their stomachs t they went back out to search for Aang but there was no sign of him anywhere

"Should we be worried?" asked Toph

"Well let's see the avatar's MIA in the Fire Nation. What do you think?" Katara asked placing her hand on her hip

Sokka's eyes widened "Oh no; do you think someone found out?"

"Doubt it" Sakura said crossing her arms over her chest "He's probably exploring; let's just go look for him. We'll split up so that we don't lose each other."

Katara grabbed Sakura's arm and started to pull her away from Sokka and Toph. "Sakura and I will head this way, see you guys later."

Sakura didn't even have time to process before Katara had dragged her from the rest of her friends, while Toph and Sokka stood in place confused.

"What was that about?" asked Sokka

Toph shrugged "Girls"

* * *

Katara and Sakura made their way through town with ease, blending in with the rest of the Fire Nation. There was an awkward silence between them for a while as they continued to search for their missing friend. A few minutes later, there was still no sign of Aang.

Sakura held her chin in thought "Where could he have gone? Maybe we should check-

"Sakura," Katara interjected placing her hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"Yes?" she asked

Katara didn't beat around the bush with her question "Has something been bothering you?"

Titling her head to the side in question Katara continued to elaborate "First the nightmares which is understandable given what happened to you."

The waterbender glanced at Sakura's covered shoulder which caused her to shuffle a bit but Sakura didn't comment yet.

"You didn't want to wear your headband which is odd because you told me once it's what symbolizes your position as a proud ninja," Katara said with concern in her voice "And now you're not eating, what's going on with you?"

Sakura sighed "I'm fine Katara really,"

"No I don't think you are." Katara stated crossing her arms "A-Are-Are, still thinking about Zuko? Do you still have feelings for-

"Of course I don't!" Sakura exclaimed a little louder than she needed to "After everything he did, how could I possibly still feel something for that guy?! I'm just trying to focus all of my energy to correcting this mistake I had caused!"

"What mistake?" Katara asked "I keep telling you, there was no way you could've known that Zuko was-

"I know that, I know!" Sakura said clutching the side of her head. She wanted to tell Katara that things were more messed up than she realised, this war was going to give a result far worse than anything she could imagine, that's why Sakura had been trying to set aside all of her feelings, for everyone in her world and Zuko so that she wouldn't get side tracked but it was harder than she expected.

* * *

Everyone searched around town for a while but after nearly two hours and no luck they didn't think he was in town anymore. They thought that he might've returned to their cave hideout and headed back only to find that he wasn't there either. There wasn't anything else the group could do other than wait and hope he showed up. Late in the evening Aang finally returned to the cave where everyone was waiting for him; his clothes were covered in dirt and scuff marks from fire but he was grinning brightly.

"Where have you been? We've been worried sick" Katara said sitting up from her spot around the fire.

"I got invited to play with some kids after school," Aang said as he removed his headband.

Sakura gaped at him "Say what now?"

"AFTER WHAT?" Sokka shouted shooting up from his relaxed position

"I enrolled in a Fire Nation school; and I'm going back tomorrow" Aang said hands on his hips proudly.

"ENROLLED IN WHAT?" Sokka shouted before he fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Aang; I think you killed Sokka." Sakura said

* * *

After everyone calmed down with Aang's surprising news he explained to them that the reason he went missing was because some guys caught him and dragged him to school because he was actually wearing the uniform.

"So I think we should stay for a little while longer." Aang pressed

"Aang I'm trying to be mature and not immediately shoot down your idea but it sounds really terrible." Sokka said bluntly

Toph nodded in agreement "Yeah we got out outfits what do you need to go to school for?"

"Every minute I'm in that classroom I'm learning new things about the Fire Nation. I already have a picture of Fire Lord Ozai."

Sakura and the rest took in the picture; it was of a man with a strict face; long black hair; dark eyes and a long goatee.

"And here's one that I made out of noodles!" Aang showed them the next picture from behind his back.

Sokka looked at him pulling a face "Impressive I'll admit but I still think it's too dangerous"

Sakura waved her hand "Oh come on Sokka; let him go. It's not like Aang will blow our cover-I trust him."

After everything Aang had been through she thought that he deserved a small break, and if going to school was something he considered as a break why not?

'After all, unlike me he deserves to have some fun.'

"I don't agree with any of this." Sokka said crossing his arms over his chest

"I guess we'll never find out about the secret river then" Aang said smiling "It goes straight to the Fire Lords Palace; we were supposed to learn about it in class tomorrow...

Sokka looked like he was in thought "Mmm I am a fan of secret rivers; alright we'll stay a few more days."

Sakura rolled her eyes; it that's all it took "Oh Sokka, so young, so gullible."

Aang stood up in excitement "FLAMEO HOTMEN"

"How much you wanna bet something's going to go wrong?" asked Toph quietly leaning towards Sakura and Katara.

Sakura shook her head "Aang's not one to cause trouble unnecessarily right?"

* * *

The next day...

"YOU HAVE TO WHAT?" Sokka, Katara, Toph and Sakura yelled at Aang in shock

Aang sheepishly rubbed the back of his head "I kinda got into trouble so now I kinda have to um...bring my parents to school for a meeting with the headmaster."

Sokka slumped on the ground of the cave.

"Shoot; I should've put money on this" Toph said stomping her foot on the ground making Sakura and Katara frown at her.

Sakura said to her "Since you can't see me I should tell you I'm glaring daggers."

"Well now we have to leave." Sokka said "We can't stay here since you decided to get in a fight."

"It wasn't actually a fight." Aang argued

That was the truth; Aang had explained to them that when he went to school today he had to recite the Fire Nation oath which he did not know so he made up his own words; then the teacher gave a pop quiz and when she asked what year did Fire Lord Sozen battle the air nation army and having been there a hundred years ago and an air nomad himself Aang knew that the air nomads didn't have a military but they wouldn't know that-hence trouble. Then in music class he started dancing which got him in trouble again because it turned out that dancing wasn't permitted. After that one of the girls from his class came to talk to him; her boyfriend showed up and tried attacking Aang and now...

"I need my parents to come to school."

"And how exactly is that going to happen given there isn't a single adult among us?" asked Sakura crossing her arms over her chest

Aang grinned "You tell me mom..."

The pinkette gaped at him and started to vigorously shake her head "Huh uh forget it!"

Sokka started laughing at her "Serves you right, this is what happens when you agree to-

"Of course dad's coming with right?" Aang mocked looking at Sokka

Sakura and Sokka looked at each other before shaking their head together "NO WAY"

* * *

In the Fire Nation capital, behind the walls of the royal palace, Zuko stirred under the covers in his old room; despite its comfort sleep eluded him. There was a lot weighing heavily no his mind, when he returned the moment he'd been dreading came, seeing his father. Needless to say it didn't go as he felt it would, his father welcomed him, told him how proud he was of Zuko for his actions-capturing his uncle, conquering Ba Sing Se and slaying the avatar. Zuko hadn't hesitated to ask where his father heard that; Azula had told their father that it was Zuko who had killed the avatar not her. Had it been someone else perhaps he wouldn't be as concerned but Azula, giving him credit for what's called the greatest accomplishment in Fire Nation history, handing it to him and asking for nothing in return...it didn't sit well with him. He had confronted her that same night about it, she denied having any ulterior motive but she had said something that shook him to his core.

" _You seemed so worried about how father would treat you because you haven't captured the avatar; I figured if I gave you the credit you'd have nothing to worry about." Azula climbed out of her bed. "I figured if I gave you the credit you'd have nothing to worry about."_

" _But why?" asked Zuko_

" _Call it a generous gesture, I wanted to thank you for your help and I was happy to share the glory."_

 _Zuko frowned "You're lying."_

 _Sighing Azula walked passed Zuko unfazed "If you say so."_

" _You have another motive for doing this, I just haven't figured out what it is."_

 _Stretching out her arms she turned back to him "Please Zuko, what ulterior motive could I have? What could I possible gain by letting you get all the glory for defeating the avatar?"_

 _Azula walked closer to her brother; placed her hand on his shoulder and whispered in a voice laced with mischief "Unless somehow the avatar was actually alive...all that glory would suddenly turn to shame and foolishness."_

 _Zuko's expression hardened like stone._

" _But as you said that was impossible." Climbing back into bed Azula lied down "Sleep well Zuzu"_

That conversation had left him shaken unlike anything he had ever endured before, (though he hated to admit it) Azula was correct when she said those things, if the avatar was alive, he would never live it down. He finally had everything he always wanted, yearend for so long and knowing that it could all be taken away because of the slightest hint of uncertainty lingering over him like a sword over his head held by the thinnest thread of doubt threatening to snap at any time.

He had attempted several times to go visit his uncle but with little luck, the first time around he was spotted by a guard and left, the second and third time he managed to get in but failed to get so much as an acknowledgment from Iroh; losing his temper had caused him to say some things that he regretted immediately after.

He couldn't turn to his uncle for advice, he couldn't tell anyone else in the Fire Nation of his suspicions that Aang might be alive. Between Katara's spirit water and Sakura's healing abilities; he wasn't too willing to bet that the young avatar was no longer among the living.

Throwing off the covers, the Fire Nation prince began making preparations as no one else was there to help him now; he was going to take matters into his own hands...

To maintain everything that he desired.

To keep everything he had suffered for.

To obtain what he longed for.

* * *

Sakura and Sokka looked at the elderly man sitting behind the desk in front of a panting of Fire Lord Ozai-according to Aang they were up in every classroom. Sakura had her hands placed over her engorged stomach-thanks to a couple more clothes stuffed under. She looked at her Sokka who was playing the part of her husband; he had a large beard and goatee. Sakura honestly didn't get what was with Fire Nation men having those; she had literally noticed all of the men having them. Aang was sitting in the middle of the two.

"Thank you for coming Mr and Mrs..."

"Fire" Sokka told the headmaster "Wang Fire; this is my wife Sapphire."

Sakura resisted the urge to kill Sokka right then and there; why couldn't Katara do this? Oh right Sakura lost at earth; fire; water

Bowing her head and putting on a smile Sakura spoke "Sapphire Fire."

"Thank you for coming Mrs and Mrs...Fire" the headmaster said "Your son has been here for two days and is already causing problems; he's argued with his history teacher; disrupted music class and roughed up my star pupil."

Sakura fake gasped "My goodness; that doesn't sound like our Kuzon."

"That's what any mother would say ma'am nonetheless you are for warned; if he acts up one more time I'll have him sent to reform school...by which I mean the coal mines. Are we clear?"

'Coal mines!? That's a gives a whole new meaning to corporal punishment!'

Sokka moved forward "Don't you worry Mr headmaster; I'll straighten this boy up something fierce...YOUNG MAN AS SOON AS WE GET HOME YOU'RE GONNA GET THE PUNISHMENT OF A LIFETIME."

Sakura wasn't too sure if Sokka was just a really good actor or if he was straight up serious. Aang didn't seem to sure himself.

"That's what I like to hear."

* * *

"That settles it!" Sokka shouted still wearing his beard "No more school for you young man!"

Aang stood up "I'm not ready to leave; I'm having fun for once just being a normal kid; you don't know what it's like Sokka-you get to be normal all the time."

Sakura and Toph started laughing "Ha, Ha!"

"Listen guys; those kids are the future of the Fire Nation; if we wanna change things for the better we need to show them a little taste of freedom."

"But what could you possibly do for a country of depraved little Fire monsters?" asked Sokka

Aang smiled with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"I'm gonna throw them a secret dance party!" Aang started tapping his feet on the ground for emphasis.

Everyone looked at Aang with the same shocked, wide eyed gaping expression before Sokka frowned and pointed to the other side of the cave "Go to your room!"

* * *

In the end however they all agreed to help Aang; so the next day while he went to tell everyone at school about it; the rest of the gang got some supplies. Then when night time hit they got the cave ready; Sakura and Sokka set up candles all over the cave; Toph created a stage for the performers and a couple of tables and chairs; Katara created the fountain for the beverage.

"I can't believe we're having a dance party; it seems so silly." Sokka said

"It certainly is a unique way to coax your enemies into changing for the better" Sakura told him

"Don't think of it as a dance party; but as a cultural even celebrating the art of fancy footwork" Aang told them as he started dancing again.

"They're coming" Toph said as she felt footsteps getting closer to the students came "Everyone stop bending."

Aang moved Appa into the back of the cave where no one would be able to see him; no soon after that all of the students had arrived.

However they all appeared to have stiff postures, furrowed eyebrows, mouths downwards; it was a wonder how they made it into the cave without their knees buckling. Sakura wasn't that surprised from what Aang had told her about the school; the Fire Nation basically made it a religious practice to ensure that their young were disciplined and strictly raised.

"Ladies and gentlemen the Flameos!" Aang introduced crossing his arms proudly over chest as he gestured to the group of students who were a band were set up on the make shift earth bended stage playing music.

"Yeah this should get everyone moving."

But turning around he saw that all the students remained still looking around nervously.

"Now what do we do?"

"This is where you start dancing." Aang told the boy

"I don't think my parents want me dancing in a cave" said one boy

Another boy started looking around nervously "Yeah what if someone finds out?"

Aang rubbed the back of his head "Oh boy; looks guys dancing isn't something you think about; it's a form of self expression that no one can ever take away from you."

"Maybe it was different in the colonies Kuzon but we don't do that here."

Aang smiled "Sure; you do you have for generations. It just so happens that I know several Fire Nation dances...a hundred years ago this was known as the Phoenix flight."

Aang crouched down and started running around with his arms stretched behind his back; the students looked in awe before Aang showed them another dance known as the Cammelifan strike where he took sharp turns from side to side moving his arms with his body and then doing a black flip landing gracefully on his feet.

The students cheered while others looked on eyes and mouth wide.

"Who knew twinkle toes could dance?" Toph said before chugging down a drink

Sakura smiled with Katara who watched the boy continued to show off his dance skills to the rest of the school children.

Aang then showed them a couple of more moves that kept the students attention before Aang grabbed a girl with brown hair tied up in a pony tail. He then showed them a dance from Ba Sing Se.

The girl started to mimic Aang's moves as they stepped side to side together.

"Wow they look really good together." Sokka said

Katara scoffed "Eh; if that's what you like."

Sakura raised an eyebrow 'Someone's jealous.'

The other students were soon encouraged to join in as well and soon everyone was dancing.

"He actually pulled it off." Sakura said smiling

Then Aang came over to Katara and held out his hand for her.

"I don't know Aang; these shoes aren't really right for dancing and I'm not really sure that I should-

"Take my hand" Aang said smiling

Katara smiled back reaching out for him "Okay"

Aang lead Katara to the dance floor where he whispered something in her ear before they looked at each other and bowed; they placed their one hand next to each other's and started to move around in a circle; stopping and doing a certain move before returning to the motion. Sakura recognised some of the movements from when Aang and Katara had done water bending. This got everyone else's attention as they formed a circle around the two and watched them with curious eyes.

Sakura watched as Aang and Katara moved in since together before they started to break out moves like back flips and cartwheels.

"They're actually good at this." Toph said

Sakura smiled "You sound surprised."

When the song ended and Aang and Katara finished they were panting with sweat dripping down them but big smiles on their faces.

Sakura's eyes dropped to the glass in her hands; she found it so amazing how Aang, Katara, Toph and Sokka worked together with one another as a unit, ever since she had joined them, she had felt this sense of belonging-despite her better judgment she embraced it. What they had as a team was something she never had in hers, unity. It was something that team seven was always lacking, Naruto and Sasuke were always fighting with one another; she was always too busy fawning over Sasuke to be concerned about the rest of her teammates. Before they knew it, the entire team had disbanded, Sasuke left, Naruto followed to train and she had trained under their hokage, a few years later she untied with Naruto and Kakashi but Sasuke was still missing, hence their team would always be divided.

'There will always be something missing.'

They made their way through the crowd grinning as Sakura and Toph clapped for them; Sokka walked over to them as well.

"Not bad." Sokka said nodding his head.

"Now that was dancing." Sakura said

"Aren't you going to dance?" asked Aang

Sakura shook her head "No way; I can't dance to save my life."

Katara came up to her and put her hand on Sakura's shoulder "What's been going on with you? You've been behaving so aloof since we got back from Ba Sing Se. I know that there was this whole thing with Zuko but there's something else isn't there?"

She gave a sad smile "Yes; I know and I'm sorry for that. It's just that I've started thinking and I've realised that..."

She turned her head in Aang's direction; he averted his eyes before she looked back at Katara, Sokka and Toph.

"I owe you guys a lot for helping me and I wanted to repay that. Even though I know the answer; I wanted to ask you...Can I stay?"

"Huh?" asked Toph and Sokka

"Can I stay with you guys?" Sakura repeated with determined eyes "And I mean long term, not only until we're finished with this war."

"But what about going back to your world?" Katara asked

Sokka looked at her concerned "Yeah, I thought you'd want to go back home after all this?"

Sakura's throat tightened as she swallowed a lump before speaking again "I don't care about going home anymore but I just want to stay with you guys."

Aang looked at the pinkette with wide eyes; all she had wanted when they first met was find a way to return home but that was no longer possible. There was obviously no doubt that.

"Is this really something that you want?" asked Aang

Sakura nodded "I want to focus on helping you win this war, to restore peace and help you fix this world even if it takes a lifetime."

Looking down at her lap she spoke in a soft tone "Please, can I stay with you?"

Katara, Toph, Sokka and Aang glanced between each other before smiling and turning back to the pinkette.

"Of course you can!" Aang said spreading his arms

"Stay as long as you want." Sokka added

"We're your friends; of course you can stay with us." Sokka said

"Forever." Katara smiled

Sakura looked up at Aang with her eyes wide; even though she knew this...she felt this swell in her heart; this giddy feeling bubbling inside of her.

They really said she could stay.

She could stay here with them.

Forever...

Standing up the pinkette dashed passed her friends who looked at her in confusion.

"Sakura where are you going!?" called Katara

Sakura ran up to the stage; her heart pumping as she jumped onto the stage and started to dance wildly; her hands and feet moving on their own accord yet in perfect harmony; the crowd cheered. Her feet wouldn't stop moving as she swung her arms around; placing her hands behind her back she did a couple of twirls before returning to moving vigorously around with grace.

"What kind of dance is that?" asked Sokka

"I don't know but it's amazing." Katara said

Toph crossed her arms over her chest and grinned "Looks like everyone's learning to be free tonight."

Sakura smiled as she twirled around; happiness swelling in her for the first time after such a long time. Even though there was so much for her to fix in this world, even though she could no longer return to her own, despite how bleak things may seem, she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face, the pounding in her chest, the excited glimmer in her eyes. Her feet moved at their own accord as she expressed her joy through her dance.

When the song ended Sakura got off of the stage and returned to the group; everyone watched her with wide eyes.

"What was that?" Toph asked shocked

"I-I" Sakura panted softly "I'm not sure myself."

"Well that was-

Aang was cut off when he noticed something off; the students had stopped dancing and were all just starring in the direction of the entrance of the cave. He began making his way through the crowd to see what was happening, the rest of the group caught on when they heard someone exclaim.

"Ah, the headmasters here!"

The headmaster and a few guards along with another student standing beside them-no doubt a snitch was looking at Aang.

"There he is, the boy with the headband!"

The guards ran in to the crowd and after him.

"I think it's time to go." Sakura said getting ready to leave along with the rest of her friends.

The band continued to play as the gauds began searching through the crowd of Fire Nation children for Aang, but as they continued to spot one or two students with headbands they found that it wasn't the boy they were looking for; the game caught on and everyone had red headbands placed over their heads, throwing off the adults as they surrounded them in a circle.

* * *

During then Aang managed to get away with his friends to the back of the cave to safety. Everyone climbed aboard Appa taking to the sky.

Katara looked over at Sokka who was still wearing his beard "We're safe Sokka you can take off the moustache now."

In character Sokka cocked an eyebrow and began stroking his stuck on facial hair "Oh no I can't, it's permanently glued to my skin."

Frowning Sakura tugged on the facial hair hard but it didn't budge, Sokka yelped in pain and moved away from her.

"OUCH, I SAIDIT WAS GLUED TO MY SKIN."

"I didn't think you were serious!" Sakura laughed

"Wait a go dancey pants." Toph said smiling "I think you really did help those kids, you taught them to be free."

Sakura nodded "She's right Aang; you helped them see what real freedom feels like and I know without a doubt this will be the first step to changing the world for the better."

Aang bashfully rubbed the back of his head "I don't know it was just a dance party."

"Well that was some dance party Aang." Katara said before kissing the avatar on his cheek.

Sokka began clapping slowly "Flameo sir, flameo."

Sighing softly, feeling the light breeze on her skin Sakura closed her eyes and drifted off with a smile on her face.

* * *

Zuko listened to the sound of the flock of birds chirping as they flew through the night's sky as he made his way towards hi destination. There wasn't a single person around, as he expected and hoped otherwise there wouldn't have been any point in making this his meeting place. As he withdrew the hooded cloak from his face, heavy footsteps came up behind him. He turned with a calm expression though inside he could feel something stirring.

He looked up at the large man that stood before him, armour around his legs and one arm; a third eye stood right in the centre of his forehead.

"You sure you weren't followed?" asked Zuko, though he didn't get an answer he took it as a certainty "I've heard about you, they say you're good at what you do and even better at keeping secrets...The avatar's alive, I want you to find him-and end him."

Zuko then began scuffling through his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper "There's also someone I want you to bring to me alive-for an extra fee of course."

On the parchment was the face of a girl with short hair coloured in pink and striking emerald green eyes, a slightly large forehead and straight face.

 **THAT'S ALL FOLKS**

 **Now I can't guarantee when I'm going to be able to update again because my classes at UCT are starting next week and that means a lot of my free time is going to turn into study time yay! (note the sarcasm) but I promise I will not abandon my stories.**

 **Please review**


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